Barr Systems Celebrates New Corporate Campus

Gainesville,Fla.-Barr Systems, Inc., hosted an open house celebration last Friday evening that began with a ribbon-cutting, balloon release and ended with fireworks. Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce officers, Rick Mulligan and Dr. Scott Medley assisted Tony Barr, founder and president of Barr Systems, with the opening ceremony.

More than two hundred guests included community officials, friends, family, and Barr business associates who traveled as far as California to attend. Dr. Winfred M. Phillips, Dean of Engineering and Associate V.P. at the University of Florida welcomed Barr Systems into the community with a champagne toast. Dr. Phillips supported the growth of Barr Systems as an opportunity for employment of future graduates of engineering and computer sciences.

Len Buffington Associates coordinated the building project for Barr Systems, which was developed as a park-like setting located at 4500 NW 27th Avenue in Gainesville. With long-range planning in mind, construction on the 20-acre parcel was designed in two phases.

Phase one, completed in January by Perry Construction makes up a 52,000 square-foot corporate campus. Designed by Associated Florida Architects, Inc., it is comprised of four buildings forming a courtyard. Barr Systems’ 72 employees are now situated in their new offices, which has a total capacity for more than 100.

Phase two is planned for future growth of the company as it expands and develops new communications products. Another similar four-building campus can be built on the site as growth requires.

Extensive landscaping of the property, that totaled more than 20,000 flowering plants, shrubs, and trees, was done by Florida Fancy Landscape Contractors. The central courtyard features a three-tiered fountain imported from Mexico. A pergola, an Italian design of architectural beams forming a circular archway, surrounds the fountain. In Barr’s early career, working in Europe, he became interested in pergolas which were used as community gathering places where people met and talked.

Barr Systems, founded in 1978, designs, manufactures, markets and supports PC-based computer products for remote printing and file transfer to mainframe computers. Barr relocated the company from Raleigh, N.C. to Gainesville in 1985 with only three employees.