TRADITION — Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies is in the process of moving to the $40 million complex in Tradition this week and should be up and running fully in February.

Employees have boxed items and movers are transporting things to the Port St. Lucie location from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce, where they have been working since May 2007.

Some employees will start work in the new building early next week. Others will continue in Fort Pierce until February.

“Our chemists and biologists need to work in a quiet environment, so it’s better for them if they wait to move into the new building,” said Torrey Pines President Richard Houghten.

All scientists and equipment will be in the new building during the first week of February. A grand opening ceremony is scheduled at the building Jan. 31. It is invitation-only, Houghten said, because the space cannot accommodate a lot of people.

“I think this is almost the sense of amazement,” said Houghten about the move into the new facility. “We are excited, and the way the community got the building permit and put up the building so fast is incredible. This has been very nicely done. It’s exciting and I’m stunned.”

Suffolk Construction Co. announced the completion of the 100,000-square-foot facility in late September — almost four months ahead of the scheduled date of January.

For St. Lucie County, Torrey Pines’ new facility is the first step for a group of biotechnology companies at the Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition.

“This means more jobs for our local residents in a new industry. Our whole thrust is to bring in high-rate paying and stable jobs for our residents,”said Port St. Lucie Mayor Patricia Christensen. “Torrey Pines is the first of many in the biotech industry and a piece of the puzzle in changing the whole economic structure in our city.”

The California-based Mann Research Center plans to build a $100 million, 400,000-square-foot life sciences complex next to Torrey Pines, and Oregon Health & Science University’s Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute announced in January of 2007 that it would move to the area as well.

TORREY PINES
September 2006: The Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, based in La Jolla, Calif., chooses Port St. Lucie as the home for its Florida headquarters. The institute later agrees to a $90 million incentive package that includes $40 million from the city for a new three-story building. In exchange, Torrey Pines commits to bringing 189 jobs to the area within 10 years.
May 2007: Torrey Pines hires first scientists to work at temporary laboratories at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce.

September 2008: Suffolk Construction Co. completed work on the building, more than three months ahead of schedule.
January: Torrey Pines moves from Fort Pierce to a new building in Tradition and administrative workers begin working at new facility.
February: The rest of Torrey Pines staff, scientists, to begin working in new facility.
March: About 30 administrators and scientists from Oregon Health & Science University’s Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute should start to occupy the third floor of the building.
June/July: Torrey Pines, which has 30 employees, is hoping to add 15 more employees
By Monique Mattiace, TCPalm.com

Tags: biotech, environment, grand, Health, science, torrey pines, Tradition

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