Preparations Underway for TGen in Phoenix

Phoenix is preparing to start construction on the cornerstone building of its downtown biosciences campus. The 170,000-square-foot facility will house the Translational Genomics Research Institute and other tenants with biotech links. It "will look like a science building, very tech-oriented," Phoenix's Assistant City Manager Sheryl Sculley said. The city hopes that TGen, and the biotech industries expected to migrate to the area to take advantage of its research, will help revitalize downtown.

Preliminary designs for the TGen building were unveiled to Phoenix City Council members earlier this week. Groundbreaking is set for June 13. The project is scheduled to be completed by late fall 2004.

The $39 million building will be owned by the City of Phoenix, although $8 million of the cost will be picked up by the building's leased tenants: Alexandria Real Estate and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Part of the National Institutes of Health, the NIDDK's Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch is at the Phoenix Indian Medical Center. The race for tenants will be on as the opening date draws closer.

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