This project has great potential, a downtown campus would be cool, but this will be located in Research Park most likely.
By BRIAN LAWSON
Times Business Writer
brianl@htimes.com
Exemptions hinge on $50M in private investment here
The Alabama Legislature on Tuesday brought Huntsville a step closer to creating a top-flight biotechnology research institute here, approving tax exemptions for the project if private investors put up $50 million to establish it.
The bill, which Gov. Bob Riley plans to sign into law, will provide tax relief starting in October 2008 to the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology, a nonprofit led by Huntsville biotechnology pioneer Jim Hudson and Adtran co-founder Lonnie McMillan.Hudson founded Research Genetics, which opened in 1987 and created Huntsville's biotechnology sector. Hudson sold his company to Invitrogen in 2000. Hudson said late Tuesday that work to create the biotech institute is ongoing, but did not elaborate.
The proposed project has been described by supporters as a nonprofit research center that would aim to lead innovation efforts in the Southeast and develop new biotechnology ideas with commercial and academic potential. The center would seek to attract related businesses interested in partnering on a range of projects.