News Release
Elliot Park Lifesciences Institute Marks Grand Opening
United Properties To Renovate, Manage, Lease Minneapolis Lifesciences Corridor’s First ‘Incubator’ Building
MINNEAPOLIS (December 15, 2004) — After nearly two years of planning and preparation, Elliot Park Lifesciences Institute (EPLI), the first dedicated business incubator in the Minneapolis Lifesciences Corridor, is set to open Thursday, Dec. 16. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak will join EPLI investors and other healthcare and community leaders for a 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. event to mark the opening of the Lifesciences Building, located at 700 South 10th Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.
“All the pieces of a comprehensive and complex puzzle have come together, and we couldn’t be more pleased to introduce EPLI to the Twin Cities community,” said David Durenberger, Minneapolis Lifesciences Corridor board member and director of operations for Midwest Orthopaedic Research Foundation (MORF), a key backer of the EPLI incubator.
Bounded by Portland and 11th Avenues and Lake Street and South 6th Street, the Minneapolis Lifesciences Corridor is included in the state’s Bioscience Tax Free Zone. The Corridor is a partnership of physicians, healthcare and medical research institutions, along with the City of Minneapolis, acting to advance the care of patients, contribute to a greater body of knowledge and create an environment that attracts physicians and health professionals to work in the area.
Development of the EPLI incubator involved the $1.9 million purchase of the Lifesciences Building, located at the corner of 7th Street and 10th Avenue, in late August by a group of private investors, including Dr. Richard Kyle, M.D., Dr. Roman Gustilo, M.D., Genesis Business Centers, United Properties and MORF.
The 60,000 square foot, four-story building is skyway and tunnel connected to Hennepin County Medical Center. The complex marks the north bookend of the Minneapolis Lifesciences Corridor. The Lifesciences Building has since 1991 housed MORF, the Orthopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory and the Gustilo Medical Education Center. Drs. Kyle and Gustilo are orthopaedic surgeons and the cofounders of MORF and the laboratory and education center.
The Biomechanics Lab, the Gustilo Medical Education Center and MORF will continue to be located on the building’s lower level. The facilities will act as magnets to draw a wide range of start-up lifesciences companies to the incubator program, which will be located in 10,000 square feet on the building’s first floor. There will be space for about 10 incubator companies in a broad spectrum of lifesciences — from medical device technology and delivery systems to surgical and biological treatments. Consultants ranging from attorneys and accountants to executive recruiters will also office in the incubator space.
The three upper levels of the Lifesciences Building will be leased to established lifesciences companies that can benefit from the wet lab space and the Hennepin County Medical Center affiliation. The EPLI incubator program will be managed by Genesis Business Centers, a Columbia Heights-based developer of business incubators. The Lifesciences Building will be renovated, leased and managed by Bloomington-based United Properties.
“The on-site wet lab facilities are a valuable benefit to start-up lifesciences companies,” Durenberger said. “When you add affordable office space, access to professional consultants right in the incubator, our affiliation to a leading research hospital and trauma center for clinical trials, venture capital resources and a myriad of tax benefits associated with locating in the Minneapolis Lifesciences Corridor and Minnesota’s Bioscience Zone, EPLI supports virtually every need of start-up lifesciences companies.”
Six Minnesota-based start-ups have signed up for space in the incubator, including Dynamic Spine, TranS1, Orthopaedic Innovations, Surgeon Solutions, Twin Star Medical, Inc. and Shepard Medical. Twin Star Medical and Shepard Medical in November became the Minneapolis Lifesciences Corridor’s first incubator companies to benefit from the state’s Bioscience Zone tax credits. After one to two years, “graduates” of the EPLI incubator will have the opportunity to lease space on the upper levels of the Lifesciences Building.
In addition to the state’s Bioscience Zone tax credits, the City of Minneapolis has applied for $130 million in funds from the Federal New Markets Tax Credit Program, which would provide investors a tax credit for making equity investments in designated community development areas, including the Minneapolis Lifesciences Corridor. Genesis Business Centers, in cooperation with Minneapolis Lifesciences Corridor leaders, is actively raising capital for the Minneapolis Lifesciences Capital Fund. The Fund will act as an “investor of first resort,” providing $25,000 to $250,000 in seed capital to early-stage lifesciences companies that make long-term commitments to the Minneapolis Lifesciences Corridor. The Fund is expected to be accessible by mid 2005.
Media Contacts
Martha Nevanen
Vice President, Marketing Communications
952-893-7539
mnevanen@uproperties.com
Jessie Folkens
Sr. Communications Consultant
952-837-8516
jfolkens@uproperties.com