SOUTH BEND – The University of Notre Dame has signed an agreement with St. Patrick’s County Park to build a $1 million research facility on 28 acres of land. The university will lease the property for $1 a year for 49 years.

The research center will be part of Notre Dame’s Environmental Change Initiative and will be available for scientists to study the relationships between land, water and wetlands.

The location of the research center is part of 144 acres of farmland the St. Joseph County Parks Department acquired in 1999. David Lodge, a Notre Dame biology professor and director of the ECI, said the site will offer scientific opportunities that aren’t available in a laboratory.