Date: November 15, 2006
For Immediate Release |
Contact: |
Kit Borgman
651-297-1192 |
State Awards $4 Million in Bioscience Business Development Grants
~ Governor Pawlenty Says Investments Will Help Spawn New Innovations, New Jobs ~
ST. PAUL – Five key bioscience research and development projects throughout Minnesota have gotten a financial booster shot thanks to $4 million in grants from the state’s Bioscience Business Development Public Infrastructure grant fund.
“These investments will help provide the critical infrastructure necessary to support research into everything from new therapies for cancer and other diseases to biofuels to conventional and alternative medicines,” Governor Tim Pawlenty said. “The grants will help provide new capital investment, new jobs and new innovations that will benefit all Minnesotans.”
Grant recipients include:
• City of Austin (on behalf of the Hormel Institute), $512,000. The City of Austin, the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic, the Hormel Foundation and Hormel Food Corporation have combined efforts to assist the Hormel Institute with a $20 million expansion project. The Hormel Institute is focused on the discovery and development of novel compounds that occur naturally in food that can be used to develop therapies for various cancers and other diseases. The expansion project will create 100 new jobs and will create a recognized facility for bioscience research. The grant will help defray costs associated with road improvements.
• Blue Earth County (on behalf of MSU Mankato), $743,750. Blue Earth County and Minnesota State University Mankato are working together to develop a cluster of services to support the growth and expansion of Minnesota’s biofuels industry. The grant will help build a $2.5 million U.S. EPA-approved emissions testing facility to analyze the fuels produced in this state. It will be the only testing facility of its kind in the Upper Midwest.
• Cannon Falls (on behalf of “The Falls: Healthy Living by Nature”), $743,750. The Falls: Healthy Living by Nature is a 136-acre, bioscience-focused, healthy living campus and bioscience research and development park. It will be a “living laboratory” that blends conventional medicine and other complementary and alternative medicines. Canon Falls Medical Center/Mayo Health Systems, Mayo Clinic, Northwestern Health Sciences University and the University of Minnesota Center for Spirituality and Healing will collaborate to provide clinical services, research and education. The total project cost is estimated at $5 million. The grant will assist with the installation of water and sewer infrastructure serving the development.
• City of Chaska (Chaska Biotech Center), $ 1 million. The Chaska Biotech Center is an 800-acre business park being developed on Highway 212. The business park will incorporate a mixture of facilities and will be dedicated to bioscience and biomedical companies. Total project costs exceed $21 million. Grant proceeds will be used to fund water, sewer and roads.
• City of Minneapolis (University Research Park), $1 million. The city of Minneapolis will use the grant to support the continued growth of the University Research Park in the heart of the Minneapolis bioscience zone. The development will provide additional sites to attract bioscience companies that wish to be close to University research facilities. Estimated costs for the project exceed $11 million. The grant will help offset the cost of roads, sewer and water, site preparation and cleanup.
Recipients must provide matching funds equal to 50 percent of the grant. Projects determined to provide the highest return in public benefits for the public costs incurred were selected. Under the conditions of the grant, all the projects must be completed within four years.
The grant program helps offset the costs of complex and costly public infrastructure development projects that support bioscience projects that might not occur without public financial assistance.
The Legislature requires that half of all grant funds available through the program be reserved solely for projects in Greater Minnesota. They other half may be used for projects anywhere in the state.
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