San Francisco emerged as the early front-runner to land California’s new $3 billion stem cell headquarters after its incentive-laden bid scored the highest marks among the four cities named to a short list of contenders. Sacramento ranked second followed by San Diego and Emeryville. The list of finalists, released Tuesday by the Department of General Services and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, was culled from 10 applicants. The institute plans to build at least a 17,000-square-foot office with a maximum of 50 employees who will help dole out nearly $300 million in research grants annually. No actual stem cell research is planned at the headquarters. Los Angeles and San Jose were the two biggest cities not to make the final cut, though stem cell agency officials are free to ignore the short list compiled by the state Department of General Services.
