Shovels Turn for Scripps Biomedical Research Center in Jupiter
By Dianna Cahn, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Mar. 10–Governors past and present sat side by side Friday and spoke of hope that, as far as Scripps Florida is concerned, the second time’s the charm.
After all, it was the second groundbreaking in so many years for the high-tech medical research center that promises to streamline science, technology and pharmaceutical development for lifesaving medical advances.
In September 2005, then-Gov. Jeb Bush stood on a different piece of earth in Palm Beach County and declared the project under way. That western citrus grove known as Mecca Farms was never developed after environmental challenges were successful in derailing construction efforts.
This time, with the rumble of bulldozers and building cranes permeating the air on a corner of Florida Atlantic University’s Jupiter campus, Gov. Charlie Crist said he saw Scripps Florida as a promise for the future.
“What this place represents for me is a place of hope,” Crist told a crowd of about 200 people under a tent in front of the construction site for Scripps Florida. “I wanted to be here to acknowledge how important it is to me.”
Bush and Scripps President Richard Lerner spoke of the rocky road that finally led to Friday’s dedication, where audience laughter and jovial remarks reflected the sense of relief that tinged the celebration.
Still, County Commission Chairwoman Addie Greene had a serious message for the new governor.
Bush brought Scripps to Palm Beach County in its infancy, she said. But it was Crist who is now tasked with “making sure this baby becomes an adult.”
It is also important to create school programs so that Palm Beach County’s children are educated to join the future scientific workforce created by Scripps when they graduate.
“I was trying to tell them, ‘Don’t forget, we still need your support,’” Greene said later. “We must keep emphasizing it. We’ve got to let them know, ‘You’ve got to find some money for us.’”
Greene referred to incentive funds needed to draw bioresearch companies to the area. From its inception, Scripps was supposed to anchor a bioresearch park that would ultimately alter the economy of South Florida. The 8 million-square-foot park was a crucial element in Bush’s vision when he persuaded the state Legislature to commit $369 million in state funds for the institute’s operations and payroll.
The park would have surrounded Scripps on the 1,919-acre Mecca Farms. On its Jupiter site, Scripps has just 40 acres, with ultimate use of another 100 acres on a property the county purchased for Scripps across the street. The research park will now spread across the county, with northern communities setting aside land for that purpose.
Last year Bush allocated $250 million in incentive funds to help lure research facilities, like Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, which broke ground in Port St. Lucie last week, and the Burnham Institute, which is expanding into Orlando.
Crist committed another $100 million to the incentive fund this year, but Palm Beach County, which promised $340 million for the three-building Scripps headquarters, says more is needed.
Asked later if those funds could be increased, Crist didn’t rule it out, but said money was tight.
For Bush, who left office in January, it was a moment for reflection. He recognized the “fairly arduous process” that began three years ago when he spearheaded efforts to bring the California-based Scripps Research Institute to Florida.
That journey took Scripps and Palm Beach County first through negotiations to lure Scripps to Mecca Farms, then a rocky road that nearly derailed the deal after the Mecca Farms site fell through, and the acrimonious negotiations that finally landed Scripps at a permanent site in Jupiter in November 2005.
“Like life, it’s never one step forward — in incremental steps,” Bush said. “Life is normally five steps forward, three steps back, 10 steps forward, maybe in this case 30 steps back.”
Scripps, meanwhile, has met all its annual requirements, said Sara Misselhorn, project director for the corporation set up to oversee the state’s investment in Scripps.
To date, Scripps has spent $118.8 million on operations and personnel, reached its goal of hiring 200 employees, spent the minimum, $3.6 million per year on equipment and is on target to receive the $35 million the institute is requesting for its coming financial year, she said.
Lerner told those at the dedication that Scripps was moving as planned to become a “massive success.”
He commended the courage of county commissioners, while noting it was no secret that “we’ve had our ups and downs politically.”
A year ago, Scripps announced that Lerner would step down as president in 2009. Asked about that Friday, Lerner said he had no intention of leaving his post so soon.
Asked how long he would stay, he said, “As long as the trustees will have me.”
Dianna Cahn can be reached at dcahn@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5501.
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Copyright (c) 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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