University Develops Biotech Research Center
Published Apr 17, 2007
The University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center is part of a bioscience park being built in Aurora.
On the southeastern fringe of the Metro North region, midway between downtown Denver and Denver International Airport, one of the most innovative medical projects in the country is taking shape.
A square-mile campus modeled after three successful research parks on the East Coast is in the works, with bioscience research buildings going up next to academic buildings and hospitals.
“This is the only comprehensive academic health center west of the Mississippi that has a physically adjacent bioscience research park,” says Jay A. Gershen, executive vice chancellor of the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center.
The campus, on land that until 1995 was occupied by the Fitzsimons Army Medical Garrison, is being converted into a $4.3 billion hub for health sciences. When it’s finished, about 32,000 people are expected to visit each day for jobs, classes and treatment.
An additional 30,000 people in the surrounding area are expected to work at hotels, restaurants and other supportive businesses.
“That’s over 60,000 people – larger than the ski industry in Colorado,” Gershen says. “At the completion of this project, when all 60,000 people are here, this will generate $6 billion a year in economic activity – and of that, $100 million will go to Colorado and $40 million to the city of Aurora.”
For every million dollars in research that takes place at the site, 37 jobs will be generated for Colorado, Gershen predicts.
Forty percent of the square mile is earmarked for the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center and two affiliates, University of Colorado Hospital and The Children’s Hospital. The university’s component includes seven education-related buildings, including a $35 million bioscience library, classrooms, faculty offices and a waste-handling facility. Also included are research towers, which will provide university scientists with 1.1 million square feet of laboratory space.
The other 60 percent, owned by the city of Aurora, is reserved for lease to private companies. Some tenants, including a biopharmaceutical company, already have moved in.
Overseeing the redevelopment of this private component is Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority, a partnership between the city and the university. The progressive setup provides companies at the bioscience park access to the resources of the region’s largest academic medical center, and vice versa.
The CU facilities are scheduled to be finished by summer 2008. It is expected to take 15 to 20 years to build out the private side of the park.
Story by Rebecca Denton
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