|
Details of plans to bring the Max Planck Society to North County were discussed at a news conference following the unanimous BCC vote. Pictured (l-r) are Jupiter Mayor Karen Golonka, PBC Economic Development Director Kevin Johns, George Elmore, chairman of the BDB Board of Directors, FAU President Frank Brogan, Assistant County Administrator Shannon LaRocque, BDB President Kelly Smallridge, Max Planck Society President Dr. Peter Gruss and Bob Rohrlack, senior vice president of Business Recruitment and Retention for Enterprise Florida.
The Board of County Commissioners has taken another important step toward making Palm Beach County a leader in biotechnology research and development. On September 11, 2007, the board conceptually agreed to support a $190-million incentive package to bring the renowned Max Planck Society (MPS) to North County.
Commissioners are tentatively committing $87 million in County funding for construction of MPS’s U.S. headquarters at Florida Atlantic University’s Jupiter campus. The 100,000-square-foot facility will include a world-class bio-imaging center, laboratories, classrooms, offices and an auditorium. The center will house approximately 135 scientists and researchers. FAU has agreed to sublease a six-acre parcel adjacent to the Scripps Florida site to accommodate the Germany-based research giant. The County is also seeking $95 million in matching funds from the state’s innovative incentive fund.
County, FAU and Scripps officials all agree the Max Planck Society is recognized as a world leader in natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences and the humanities, making it an ideal addition to the County’s burgeoning biotechnology cluster.
“We see this as a tremendous opportunity to pursue our mission, both in basic science and in relation to the growing potential of this innovative location,” said Professor Dr. Peter Gruss, president of the Max Planck Society. “We will do everything in our power to make Max Planck a success story for Palm Beach County.”
Hundreds of new knowledge-based jobs will be created by teaming with FAU and Scripps Florida, Gruss added. An economic model conducted by Palm Beach County estimated a financial return on investment of $1.2 billion in gross regional product, economic output and personal income over the next 20 years.
MPS employs more than 23,000 people at 78 institutes, labs and research centers in Europe and Asia. This will be its first in the United States. MPS was founded in 1948 and has produced 16 Nobel Prize winners. |
Government
