The 70-year history of the modern business park is an odd journey.

Starting as trading estates mainly concerned with workshops and engineering, they have evolved to become hi-tech broadband-enabled hubs of activity. In the 1990s, as their UK popularity boomed along with the retail market, they became synonymous with call centres, canteens and isolation with many workers. But as car ownership in countries like the UK increased, companies continued to invest in business parks as an alternative to often more expensive inner-city business properties.

Now business parks are often built on brownfield sites and sit alongside hotels, attractive landscaping and shopping centres. But, as with many new housing developments, cost is no longer the key for many firms and neither is a facility that just offers office space. These changing demands have led to the rise of the science park - facilities involving knowledge-based businesses, often attached to a university and including lab facilities.

The first thing you need to know about this type of business hub is they are on the march.

Recent research (PDF) by the UK Science Park Association suggests that science parks are being built at the rate of 23,000 square feet a year and are attracting more and more interest from the private sector.

The concept itself is nothing new - science parks were first established in the 1950s and founded the area known as Silicon Valley in Northern California, US.

But the decline of heavy industry in many western countries and the corresponding rise in demand for internet, technology and science-based services has injected their growth with extra verve.

So much so that the UK Science Park Association has taken on more members and conducted research on how best to maximise their potential impact on the British economy.

However, the same association says there is ‘an increasingly limited number of potential sites available for future science park development,’ meaning those being built or planned are likely to attract high sale and rental prices for units. Property investors take note!

UK off-plan science park investments worth exploring

Scheduled for completion in summer this year is Nottingham Science Park, an extension of an existing facility and partnership between Nottingham City Council and Nottingham University.

Individual units are available now on flexible lease terms and vary in size from 93 sq m to 929 sq m. Features include on-site concierge, break out areas with WiFi and toilets with showers.

Sustainability is also a feature, with a ‘brown roof’, maximised use of natural lighting and energy efficiency ticking the eco boxes, and the building’s website describes it as ‘good for the planet, and good for business.’

Also due for completion this year is Bristol Science Park, a £300m development 22-hectares in size. The site is expected to attract interest from the aerospace, defence, digital and biotechnology industries.

Further north, Liverpool Science Park’s first phase has already experienced success and work is now underway on a further expansion

‘Phase 1b’ will provide 3,300 sq m of grow-on space to the same specifications of the first section, which offers office and lab facilities, under-floor and cable trunking, conference facilities and suspended ceilings.

Also growing is Tamar Science Park, near Plymouth, started in 1995. This year it expects to complete a phase four extension; ‘a convergence of service, industry and education’.

The £23m development will double the size of the Park, with fifth and sixth phases also on the cards.

Business support in-house is an added feature of many science parks, including Aston Science Park, according to blog The British Midlands.

Limited But Well-Stocked Opportunity Window

Crucially, most expansions are either being built right now or are due to be built in the next two to three years, meaning investors keen to find out more about the sector will have plenty to choose from after doing their homework.

It is worth noting opportunities in investing in off-plan residential properties may be themselves boosted by the location of a science park nearby, as reported by thisismoney.co.uk as they discuss choosing a buy-to-let property.

Possibly because their development is often instigated by local authority and university partnerships, private investment opportunities in science parks are only now becoming truly popular.

Whereas business parks are two-a-penny as far as investing off-plan is concerned, science parks are at a premium and surely an untapped source for an investor prepared to do their homework and take the plunge.

Technorati Tags: science parks, business property, UK real estate, property, real estate, real-estate, off plan property, off plan, property investment, real estate investment

Golf property sales in the town of Bodrum, Turkey could be set to increase over the next few years, thanks to a major new golf course currently being developed.

World renowned golf course designers, Golfplan - Fream, Dale and Ramsey - have announced that they’re starting work on a new 18-hole golf course in Bodrum. Located on an as yet unnamed resort, the golf course will be complemented by a large hotel and 4,000 villas and will be the first Golfplan development in Turkey.

This golf course will be incorporating various Turkish themes, including ancient Greek and Roman ruins, flocks of flamingos and traditional olive trees. “We’ve been very careful with the routing and construction of the golf course,” said one of the architects from Golfplan. “The entire area has tremendous history and areas adjacent to the golf course have been designated an archaeological preserve, so we intend to keep things where they are and let people experience the history.”

Golfplan are the architects behind many of the world’s famous golf courses, including Pezula in South Africa, Shore Gate in Atlantic City, Disneyland Paris and the Serapong Course on the Island of Sentosa.

“Golf in Turkey is still in its infancy and the Bodrum course will be about the 10^th in the country. But we see this market growing faster and going further than most, as the area has so much to offer,” say the Golfplan team. The Bodrun golf course is scheduled to be ready for spring 2009.

Already regarded as the ‘St Tropez of Turkey,’ Bodrum is one of the more exclusive areas in the country to buy. So, if you’re investigating a property purchase in Turkey, Bodrum may prove to be a good idea - especially if you want to target the golfing fans.

Technorati Tags: golf real estate, golf property, golfing in Turkey, golf resorts, Bodrum real estate, Bodrum property, real estate, real-estate, off plan property, off plan, property investment, real estate investment