Press Releases
FLORIDA'S LIFE SCIENCES SECTOR GETS ANOTHER BOOST WITH ADDITION OF OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY'S VACCINE AND GENE THERAPY INSTITUTE
VGTI Florida to Occupy a 130,000-Square-Foot Facility In Port St. Lucie's Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (January 8, 2008) -- The State of Florida further solidified its position as a growing center of life sciences research today with the announcement that the Oregon Health & Science University's Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI) will expand into a 130,000-square-foot facility in the Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition (FCI), a 120-acre research park in Port St. Lucie.
VGTI Florida will be adjacent to the headquarters for the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies (TPIMS), which just 18 months ago announced its intention to locate in this fast-growing community. The facility is expected to create 200 high-value jobs over the next 10 years.
Speaking via video to a host of community leaders gathered in Tradition for a meeting of the EDC of St. Lucie County, Inc., Governor Charlie Crist said, “Quote from Governor Crist.”
Gov. Crist has asked the Florida Legislature to allocate $60 million in incentive funding from the Florida Innovation Fund to create the facility, and the City of Port St. Lucie has committed to providing $53 million in infrastructure improvements in FCI. The City and St. Lucie County are being asked to provide $1.5 million and $2.9 million in property tax abatements, respectively, in addition to $400,000 in impact fee rebates from the County.
VGTI will operate out of temporary facilities at TPIMS Florida for up to three years as its facility is constructed.
“Our institute in Florida will allow for unique regional partnerships while expanding our reach nationally,” said Jay Nelson, Ph.D., director of the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute in Beaverton, Oregon, who will also oversee the staffing of the new Florida Facility. “Port St. Lucie is an outstanding location, and we look forward to collaborating with the increasing number of life sciences organizations that are calling the Research Coast home.”
Established in March 2001, VGTI has assembled a multidisciplinary team of scientists to respond to increasingly serious infectious disease threats, including AIDS, chronic viral infection-associated diseases, newly emerging viral diseases and infectious diseases of the elderly. Major priorities of VGTI faculty include vaccine development as well as the development of novel immune and gene therapy approaches.
VGTI Florida expects to collaborate heavily with the Torrey Pines Institute, which has developed an extensive library of chemical compounds that will assist VGTI's scientific assays. In fact, it was TPIMS founder and president Dr. Richard Houghten that first approached VGTI and brokered a meeting with the EDC of St. Lucie County, Inc.
“When Dr. Houghten first announced his intention to build headquarters in Port St. Lucie, he made it clear that he felt a responsibility to help us build a true research cluster here,” said EDC Executive Director Larry Pelton. “Little did we know he planned to move this fast, and this entire community owes him a debt of gratitude.”
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About OHSU:
Oregon Health & Science University is Oregon's only health and research university, and only academic health center. As Portland's largest employer, OHSU provides many services and community support activities not found elsewhere in the state. It serves more than 184,000 patients and is a conduit for learning for more than 3,900 students and trainees.
About the EDC of St. Lucie County, Inc.
About FCI at Tradition:
The Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition is a 120-acre research park under development in the 8,300-acre master-planned community of Tradition. The park is anchored by new headquarters for the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, set to open by early 2009. In addition to TPIMS and VGTI Florida, the park will be home to the Mann Research Center, a six-building life sciences complex adjacent to both facilities, along with a new medical campus for Martin Memorial Health Systems. A Homewood Suites hotel along with additional hotel, restaurants and support retail are also planned. For more information, visit www.innovationflorida.com.
About Tradition:
Already home to more than 800 occupied homes with another 1,600 under contract, the Town of Tradition in western Port St. Lucie has established a reputation as one of the nation's most popular master-planned communities. In addition to a wide variety of housing styles from eight prominent homebuilders, Tradition offers abundant retail and dining options in the Tradition Square and Landing at Tradition retail centers, as well as regular concerts and festivals that draw thousands from throughout Florida's Treasure Coast. The community is being developed by Core Communities, LLC to serve not only as a leading housing and entertainment destination, but also as the region's leading driver of job creation. It's FCI at Tradition research park is just one part of a 4.5-mile-long employment corridor being developed by Core along Interstate 95.