The University of Miami has its own stimulus plan for South Florida: a life science park set to break ground in July with the expectation of creating 4,531 permanent jobs and a $253 million annual economic output.

The university has signed a development deal with Hanover, Md.-based Wexford Science & Technology for the first phase of the project, which would encompass 211,000 square feet out of the 2 million square feet in six buildings ultimately planned for the life science park, said Dr. Bart Chernow, whose titles include VP of special programs and vice provost of technology advancement at UM Miller School of Medicine.

The UM Life Science Park would house both established and spin-off companies looking to partner with university researchers. It would offer leases of preconstructed wet labs, offices and shared facilities as technology development suites.

Chernow said he has signed letters of intent with companies that would fill the entire first phase.

“The life science park will bring jobs and that’s what the public will respond to,” UM President Donna Shalala said in a Web video promoting the project. “More importantly, it will bring good jobs.”

On April 16, UM signed a ground lease giving Wexford control of the site along Interstate 95 near UM’s Miller School of Medicine campus and Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Chernow said Wexford is responsible for financing construction and building. He said the financing is in place, but would not disclose the cost. Several Wexford officials did not return calls seeking comment.

According to the lease filed in county records, Wexford would start paying rent to UM when the temporary certificate of occupancy is issued for the core and shell of the building. The financial terms and duration of the lease were not disclosed.

The plans for the UM Life Science Park aim for gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and include a rain garden canopy that is naturally cooled by a 60-foot waterfall. It would also include street-level retail and housing for researchers and academia, Chernow said. He plans to bring visiting medical experts from Europe and Latin America for stints at UM.

Chernow said UM is in talks with the British Embassy about partnering with medical researchers from prestigious British universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge. UM already has 80 research partners nationwide.

During his presentation at the Enterprise Development Corp.’s BioTech Conference on April 30 in Miami, Chernow lamented how other states get most of the venture capital dollars for life science companies. He said venture capital funding has been limited in South Florida, where the life science companies are spread throughout the region. Chernow said UM’s life science park will create a destination for investors to discover compelling research.

Jeffrey Wolf, a managing partner of Miami-based SeedOne Ventures, said he plans to house his venture capital firm and Heat Biologics in the UM Life Science Park. Wolf is the CEO of Heat Biologics, which is funded by SeedOne and has a potential vaccine to treat non-small cell lung cancer undergoing a clinical trials at UM. The vaccine was developed by a UM researcher.

“Having the equipment and experienced researchers available will be a god-send to the biomedical industry in South Florida,” Wolf said. “We want to use our money on research and not building out labs.”

Available wet lab space in South Florida is rare and expensive to build.

The park will be attractive to companies because they could share resources and a base of seasoned workers, Wolf added.

Stanley Satz, chairman of Doral-based Bio-Nucleonics, said his company also plans to be in the UM Life Science Park. His firm is a spin-off from UM that developed a slow-dose radioactive treatment for cervical cancer.

Alan Moore, president and CEO of Calgary, Canada-based Stem Cell Therapeutics, said his company has reserved space in the UM Life Science Park and might eventually move the company to Miami, where he lives. Stem Cell Therapeutics has a combination of two drugs in clinical trials that it hopes stimulate stem cells to repair brain damage from stroke, head trauma and multiple sclerosis.

South Florida Proton Center has a letter of intent to put a cancer-blasting proton beam at the UM Life Science Park. That rare device could cost between $85 million and $100 million. It would be in a building separate from the 211,000-square-foot first phase.

THE DETAILS:

Park’s economic impact

• 24,102 jobs during construction
• $1.4 billion economic output during construction
• 4,531 permanent jobs
• $253 million in annual economic output

To learn more about the plans, visit the official Web site at www.umlsp.com.

Source: University of Miami

Leasing information

• Contact Marcelo Radice at (305) 243-2738 or mradice@med.miami.edu.