News Room
Pine Island gets $1.8 million to prep for Elk Run construction
By Jeff Hansel - [excerpt from Post-Bulletin, Rochester, MN]
May 20, 2009
PINE ISLAND – Biotechnology development really is coming to Pine Island.
The developer of the Elk Run biotechnology project has given Pine Island $950,000 – and the state has matched that amount – to complete second-phase utilities installation, add a water retention pond at the biobusiness park, and construct a sanitary lift station.
“Tower Investments’ funding announcement comes on the heels of this week’s recognition by the online industry site Fierce Biotech, which named Minnesota the region in North America most likely to ‘spark a burst of new biotech activity,” says an announcement from Tower. “The publication cited Elk Run as a ‘trendsetter’, touting the development’s ‘potential to breed or expand biotech clusters’ thanks in large part to Tower Investments’ partnership with industry icon G. Steven Burrill and the developers’ ability to get creative during this economic downturn.”
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The energy surrounding the Elk Run project has begun to spill into other areas of the state, particularly the southeastern corner.
Already, notes Rochester Area Economic Development Inc. in a presentation, Rochester is Minnesota’s fastest-growing community.
It notes that Rochester has the world’s largest “patient-record and tissue-sample database” at Mayo Clinic, and the world’s fastest computer at its IBM plant.
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In a recent announcement, Tower’s CEO Steve Marks Sr. notes that “the recent buzz around the state of Minnesota as the new frontier for biotechnology , along with the funding and the subsequent infrastructure improvements at Elk Run, demonstrate clear progress and set expectations for the future. Minnesota will certainly be the site of continued success for innovative life science companies, sustainable job creation and economic development, and, ultimately, improved patient care for people in the U.S. and around the world.”
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