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Saturday, September 06, 2008 Mixed Use
The project, called Elk Run, is located fifteen minutes from the Mayo Clinic headquarters and will consist of a new BioBusiness park, a healthy living campus, office/warehouse, retail, institutional components and traditional neighborhood residential space. Tower Investments recently received approval from local officials for the annexation of 1,282 acres for the mixed-use development. The firm plans to move that acreage into the city in order to take advantage of key infrastructure. "Our goal is for Elk Run to bolster the area economically, attracting new business and bringing jobs to the area," said Alex Marks, senior vice president with Tower Investments. "We look forward to continued collaboration with the Pine Island administration, business leaders and residents of this great community as we work to bring this shared vision to life." Phase I of the project will house the Biotechnology Center at Elk Run (BCER), a non-profit organization that develops biotechnology firms, technologies and services. The building is a research, development and manufacturing facility slated to break ground in the fourth quarter of 2008 and will contain 40,000 square feet. The facility will be located just off Highway 52 in Pine Island and will be a build-to-suit for institutions and start-up firms "We expect to have 40 total operational staff with technical, scientific and engineering experience, and we have already forged invaluable collaborative relationships with biotech experts throughout Minnesota," Marks said. BCER's plans for the facility include product and technologies development, manufacturing, phase commercialization and testing support services. The building is being designed and constructed by Perkins + Will and PCL Construction Services, both Minneapolis-based firms, and land planner DTJ Design, Inc., of Boulder, Colo. "Our vision for BCER is to complement public and private efforts to increase biotech industry in the region," said Marks, "and to establish a full-service facility where the best in the field can usher products from pre-clinical safety studies through to commercialization." Earlier this month, Tower Investments announced the members of BCER's inaugural strategic advisory board. The group is comprised of members of the biotechnology industry, the academic field (Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota) and business leaders from the Rochester area. The board members include: - Charles C. Muscoplat, Ph.D., vice president for statewide strategic resource development, University of Minnesota - Larry Pease, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic Rochester - Dave Melin, vice president, corporate and government affairs, MGI Pharma Inc. - Ian Troup, former COO, Upsher-Smith - Leonard Ruiz, Ph.D., CEO, BIOVIRx - Dale A. Wahlstrom, CEO, The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota "Bringing together such an esteemed group of professionals as the BCER strategic advisory board is especially important to Tower Investments," Marks said. "With leaders like these guiding the organization through its earliest stages of development, we are confident that the BCER - and Elk Run itself - will quickly realize its vision of advancing important biotech research and encouraging sustainable economic development locally and for the state of Minnesota." In April, the City of Pine Island received a $600,000 Bioscience Business Development Public Infrastructure grant in order to fund development of the BioBusiness Park at Elk Run, a phase set to break ground later this year. The funds will be used to extend water and sewer infrastructure to serve the 200-acre park. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $2 million with the total infrastructure costs for the business park estimated at $6 million. "The bioscience industry has a great deal of potential in Minnesota, and the BioBusiness Park development in Pine Island is another key infrastructure project for the state," said Dan McElroy, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Other plans for Elk Run include: - A healthy living community with a sports complex, fitness center, rehabilitation center, spa and walking trails. - A commercial development with hotels, extended stay lodging, shopping center and Class A office space. - A residential development with varied housing types, assisted living properties and custom homes lots. Tower Investments is a national real estate investment and development firm with offices is Northern California and Nashville, Tenn. The firm specializes in the acquisition, improvement and management of commercial and residential real estate properties. Filed Under: Mixed Use E-mail this article to a friend | Printer friendly format| DIGG this| Post to del.icio.us 
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