UMB plots $675M biotech park expansion

University of Maryland Baltimore leaders are asking the city's architecture review board to approve a $675 million expansion of the UMB BioPark--a move that would triple the size of the planned project. At the moment the site has two research buildings with 470,000 square feet of space, and a third building will open its doors later this year. The BioPark already counts Alba Therapeutics, Gliknik, FASgen, Biomere, and Fyodor Biotechnologies among its tenants, according to the Baltimore Business Journal.

Two years ago, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley announced plans to invest $1.3 billion in the state's bioscience industry by the year 2020. The state's biotech leaders hope the massive expansion will help it compete with biotech powerhouses like San Francisco and Boston for tenants.

Construction of yet another multi-tenant building is expected to begin later this year, and BioPark planners are on the hunt for tenants for the new space. "If I said we were putting every ounce of energy into finding tenants for that building, it would be an understatement," Jane Shaab, the biopark's senior vice president, told the Journal. "That is the focus right now." The BioPark expansion will boast 11 research buildings upon completion in 2020.

- here's the report for more

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