SOUTH KINGSTOWN — The University of Rhode Island this afternoon will unveil details about an ambitious proposal for a 30-acre research and technology park north of Flagg Road on the Kingston campus, a step they say is essential to expanding URI’s research power and generating revenue.

URI officials envision a mixture of faculty-led spinoff companies, satellite offices of big corporations, such as Amgen and Raytheon, and incubator space spread out over a total of six buildings. The park would sit directly across the street from the university’s developing north quadrant, which is being transformed into a life-sciences hub. The university plans to open a $60-million biotechnology center there in January 2009 and a $65-million building for the College of Pharmacy in the fall of 2010. URI also plans to build new chemistry and nursing facilities in the north campus.

University officials say it would take about 10 years to develop the park to its full capacity, with a new building constructed every 18 months. As many as 1,000 people could one day work in the park, but URI officials say that will depend on the size and type of companies that move in.

URI officials estimate it will cost about $12 million to $15 million to construct the first 50,000-square foot building, install utilities and build an access road and a parking lot within the next two years. They will ask lawmakers to approve bonds early next year to cover part of the project and plan to collaborate with a private developer or company to cover the rest of the first phase of the project, said Robert A. Weygand, URI’s vice president of administration. Weygand said the university had talked to several companies but that no agreements had been signed.

“We will be looking at innovative ways to fund this, because we want to be able to move at a fast rate,” Weygand said. URI will also work with the state’s Economic Development Corporation to leverage federal funds and other financial assistance, Weygand said. The corporation paid for half of the $49,000 park-feasibility study.

“In these economic times, perhaps some people would say we should be cautious,” Weygand said. “We think the opposite. We need to be bold. If not, we will be left behind.”

Weygand will discuss the details of the plan at a public forum at 2:30 today in the Memorial Union Ballroom, where members of the community can ask questions. He said he plans to make similar presentations before the South Kingstown Town Council and the EDC later this fall.

Consultants George, Henry, George Partners spent a year developing the 130-page study, which outlines strengths and weaknesses of the park proposal.

Among URI’s strengths is its research expertise in areas such as engineering, oceanography and pharmacy and a new emphasis on biotechnology. The study notes URI’s ready supply of researchers and graduate students to help staff start-up companies and established corporations. Its location in scenic South Kingstown also ranked high. Office space is cheaper in South County, which might attract satellite offices of high-tech companies based in Boston and the Route 128 corridor, according to the report.

Putting together academic researchers with professional engineers and business leaders can benefit both sides, said Peter Alfonso, URI’s vice president of research and economic development, who was hired last year to expand URI’s research capacity and develop the park. As faculty and business people mix, they can exchange ideas, share expensive research equipment and establish contacts for future collaborations.

Listed as weaknesses are URI’s relatively low volume of research, licenses and patents, compared with other universities. URI generates about $60 million a year in federal research dollars. URI President Robert L. Carothers hopes to increase that amount to $100 million by 2010. He also wants the university to be more aggressive in commercializing faculty and staff inventions and intellectual property.

The consultants noted reluctance on the part of some URI faculty, who are unfamiliar with developing their research for commercial purposes.

“I don’t think the majority of the faculty knows what the intention of the [research and technology park] is, or what it means for them,” said Thomas N. Mather, an entomology professor who was one of several professors interviewed for the study. “Some faculty don’t think the two paths [of research and business] should cross.”

URI already provides a research ethics training program to prevent conflicts of interest, said Lynn Pasquerella, vice provost for academic affairs. So far, about 130 professors have received the training.

Some faculty may worry their contributions to URI will be overshadowed by colleagues whose work can turn a profit, Pasquerella said.

“As we move toward research and economic development, I suppose people in the humanities and the arts will say, ‘We don’t want to turn into a technical institute’,” Pasquerella said. “We want to make sure we are honoring all kinds of scholarship.”

URI officials say they will not adopt one of the most controversial recommendations of the study — building a four-lane Route 138 bypass north of the campus between Routes 2 and 1. South County residents and environmental groups have repeatedly rejected similar ideas over the years, most recently in the 1990s.

“The road does not have the capacity [for four lanes] and the community does not have the political will for the bypass,” Weygand said. “We will not be advocating for that.”

Instead, officials say improvements to Route 138 already planned by the state Department of Transportation will help ease congestion in historic Kingston village. URI officials also want to extend Flagg Road through the western part of the campus, down to Route 138, in an effort to provide an alternative route for drivers who live north of campus, by directing them to Route 2.

To read the feasibility study, visit: www.uri.edu/administration/

jjordan@projo.com