Murdock Biotech Plan Valued At $1B; 5,000 Jobs In Bio NC

California financier David Murdock's plan for establishing a biotechnology research campus in Kannapolis could grow to a $1 billion development that would create 5,000 jobs. Murdock, who owns Dole Food Co. Inc. and real estate development firm Castle & Cooke Inc., unveiled his proposal Monday for transforming a 250-acre former Pillowtex Corp. plant and an adjacent 100 acres in downtown Kannapolis into the North Carolina Research Campus. The campus, which Murdock wants to develop in conjunction with the University of North Carolina system, would create 5,000 jobs. But spinoff employment could eventually grow to 30,000, says John Cox, chief executive of the Cabarrus Regional Chamber of Commerce.

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