PORT ST. LUCIE, FL- The Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies (TPIMS) has received its certificate of occupancy for its 103,000-sf facility at the Florida Center for Innovation, a 150-acre research park under development here. This will be the first biotechnology organization attracted by Florida's Innovation Incentive program to complete and move into a building at the center, according to a press release published by developer Core Communities.

As part of the incentives, the City of Port St. Lucie built the $40-million facility for TPIMS. Suffolk Construction, which was responsible for building the LEED-certified structure, finished the project months ahead of schedule.

TPIMS president Richard Houghten has said he plans to bring 189 employees to its new headquarters within 10 years. The organization will use the seven laboratories in the structure to pursue innovative research on the treatment of major medical conditions such as diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and heart disease.

"This achievement is testament to the entrepreneurial spirit of the City of Port St. Lucie and to the partnership established with TPIMS president Dr. Richard Houghten," said Andy Favata, vice president of Core Communities, in the release. "Two years after Dr. Houghten announced his intention to establish new headquarters here, a highly sophisticated, technologically robust, LEED-certified facility is open for business."

The Florida Center for Innovation is located in the 8,300-acre master-planned community of Tradition, developed by Port St. Lucie-based Core Communities. Since construction on the TPIMS facility began in March 2007, more research companies have signed on to locate here.

The Oregon Health & Science University will expand its Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI), into a 130,000-sf facility here, with plans to create 200 jobs over the next ten years. The company will operate out of the third floor of the TPIMS building until its building is constructed and ready for business in the end of 2011.

The Mann Research Center has also acquired a 22-acre parcel at the Florida Center for Innovation with the intent to build a $100-million, 410,000-sf life sciences complex. Construction on the first building is expected to begin in summer 2009, and will have five or six research and development structures at build out, according to Favata. Late last year, BBL Development Group LLC and Equinox Cos. also signed on to bring a 111-room Homewood Suites by Hilton, including two restaurants, to the growing biotech hub.

In addition, Martin Memorial Health Systems is planning a new medical campus on the site that will break ground in the beginning of 2009, says Favata. The development will include a research hospital that will perform clinical trials, include a teaching component and a shared services program that will fit in with the biotechnology companies, he say. "This really is a cluster of businesses that share a vision to improve the health of mankind," he adds.