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Council OKs TIF to build biobank

Hieu Pham

Iowa City Press-Citizen

October 18, 2006

[Note: This material is copyright by the Press-Citizen, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of the Iowa City Press-Citizen.]


A biotechnology company's request for $1.2 million in tax breaks to build a biobank on the north side of Iowa City was approved Tuesday by city councilors.

"This is what we like to see in Northgate Corporate Park," said City Councilor Regenia Bailey about the proposed site.

The National Genecular Institute Inc., which recently announced a partnership with the University of Iowa to also expand into Oakdale Research Park in Coralville, will create 178 jobs by 2010. Thirty-six of the jobs will be in Iowa City with an average salary of $22.50 a hour. The positions will include research, customized manufacturing, shipping and receiving.

At the formal City Council meeting, councilors unanimously voted to provide tax incremental financing in the form of rebates for a period of seven years to NGI, a California-based company that specializes in pharmaceuticals and skin care for anti-aging and post-surgery treatments.

The creation of new jobs and NGI's interest in possibly buying an additional 30 acres for future expansion north of the site is an example of the kind of development the city hopes to attract, councilors said.

"The thing that interests me is the commitment to buy new property which I presume will require new employees," City Councilor Dee Vanderhoef said.

Tannin Fuja, chief scientist and director of research for NGI and also an ajunct professor at UI, said he looked forward to "what we consider a very synergistic relationship here."

The Iowa City facility will be a $6 million, 20,000-square-foot biobank for storing genetic and cellular materials, and is expected to be an integral part of the business.

In Coralville, the facility will be a 73,000-square-foot research laboratory and business incubator building at the northeast corner of Highway 965 and Oakdale Boulevard. NGI will occupy about 41,000-square-feet of lab and office space while UI will use its 32,000-square-foot portion for a technology incubator facility designed to help start-up companies.

Construction is expected to begin next fall for the Coralville facility. The company will begin work in January in leased space at the Myriad Two Building in Coralville.

The two projects combined will cost $26 million. Funding will be provided by the Iowa Department of Economic Development with $655,000 in direct state assistance, grants and incentives. The city of Coralville pledged $800,000 in tax increment financing, and the company also will receive $1.1 million in job training assistance.

This is the 6-year-old company's first expansion in the United States outside of California. NGI decided to partner with UI and the Iowa City/Coralville area after looking at seven universities in Utah, Texas, Arizona and California.