Bloomberg and Silver Say Biotechnology Center Will Become an Economic Boon

A highly anticipated $700 million biotechnology center is beginning to take shape along the East River. The project, which is being developed on city-owned land, will include 1.1 million square feet of commercial space and research labs when complete. At a groundbreaking yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg and the speaker of the state Assembly, Sheldon Silver, said the project will be a major economic boon because it will help establish New York, which already has a wealth of medical talent, as a bioscience hub.

In addition to $700 million that Alexandria Real Estate Equities is committing, the project will get $13.4 million in city capital money, $23 million from the state Assembly, $4 million from the governor's office, $2 million in federal funds, and about $16 million from several other sources. The first phase is scheduled for completion in 2009.