January 4, 2011 Bar Harbor, Maine – The Jackson Laboratory has withdrawn its state application for an expansion in Collier County and will work with newly elected Florida Gov. Rick Scott to align the project with his goals for growing the state’s economy.
“We’re really excited by the new governor and his message of economic opportunity,” said Charles E. Hewett, Ph.D., Jackson’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “We think our project fits right in with his bold economic-development vision of creating 700,000 new jobs in seven years.”
Jackson is planning to build a new research institute that would anchor a biomedical research and education village in eastern Collier County. It had a pending application with Enterprise Florida for funding through the state’s Innovation Incentive Fund program until withdrawing it Monday in a letter from Hewett to Crystal Sircy, Enterprise Florida’s senior vice president for business retention and recruitment.
“We remain very enthusiastic about our possible Florida expansion,” Hewett said, “and we look forward to working with Gov. Scott’s administration to see how we can contribute to his plans for job creation and economic growth.”
As a courtesy, Jackson notified Scott’s transition team of yesterday’s application withdrawal and its desire to work with the new administration after the inauguration. The transition team offered to arrange a meeting with Scott and his administration at the earliest possible date.
Jackson also notified Fred Coyle, chairman of the Collier County Board of Commissioners, and Tammie Nemecek, president and CEO of the Economic Development Council of Collier County.
The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution and National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center based in Bar Harbor, Maine, with a facility in Sacramento, Calif. Its mission is to discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human diseases, and to enable research and education for the biomedical community.
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