UM biotech hub opens downtown


Above: the University of Miami Life Science and Technology Park

The University of Miami Life
Science and Technology Park
opened officially at a ceremony this
morning, marking the centerpiece of what could be a major
biotech center
in South Florida.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos
Gimenez, Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and University of Miami President
Donna Shalala were on hand to officially open the building. The
completed first phase has a total of 252,000 square feet and is part of a
five-building project that could be the largest building of its kind in
South Florida at 2 million square feet.

“This is a major step forward for our entire community, this park puts Miami-Dade County on the map and gives us a firm foothold in the growing biotech industry,” Gimenez said. “It creates the long-term potential of a thriving biotech industry in Miami-Dade County, bringing needed diversity to our local economy and creating new jobs.”

The park, which has signed on 14 new tenants that will occupy 60 percent of the building, is located at 1951 NW 7th Avenue, at the edge of Miami’s burgeoning health district

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“This spectacular facility will enable us to move research forward into advanced products and treatments that will be brought to patients in South Florida, across the United States and around the world,” said Pascal Goldschmidt, the dean of the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine.

New tenants include Andago, a Spain-based information technology firm, intellectual property firm Novak Druce + Quigg and Community Blood Centers of South Florida. The park has also signed two retail tenants — the UPS store, and restaurant Balan’s, which has three other locations in Miami Beach, Brickell and MiMo.

Earlier this year, Bill Hunter, leasing manager for developer Wexford, told The Real Deal the park could lead to not just retail, but potentially residential and hospitality in the health district.