The Business Development Board of Palm Beach County (BDB), with more than two decades of experience in relocation and expansion, played a key role in securing The Scripps Research Institute in October 2003. This project is every economic development organization's dream but it took a lot of hard work to pull it all together. The BDB had been working to create a new economic vision for the county since 2002 and was focused on attracting and developing the Life Science Industry. This was a major factor in our being prepared when Scripps called.

BDB President Larry Pelton; Scripps President Dr. Lerner; Governor Bush

        The BDB was contacted by the Florida Governor's office approximately two weeks before the Institute visited. On short notice, the BDB assembled a team of business and government leaders to promote the county's resources to an unknown prospect. Given only 48 hours to assemble sites and to come up with a strategy for funding a considerable incentive package, the team researched the issues that met the institute's criteria for selection of a site. Most importantly, the team moved with speed and confidentiality. The BDB Executive Committee, in order to attract the Institute and to accommodate a sizeable future cluster, put two 2,000-acre (80-hectare) parcels under contract. These actions were necessary to exceed competitive communities' offers. The team knew that Orlando, Florida had 7,000 (2,800 hectares) acres readily available to lure Scripps.
        The Scripps Research Institute is one of the world's largest and most renowned research centers, responsible for groundbreaking research in leukemia, ovarian cancer, Lou Gehrig's disease, Alzheimer's and AIDS; is home to three Nobel laureates and is the largest institute funded by the National Institutes for Health.
        On October 10, 2003, at the Business Development Board offices, Governor Jeb Bush announced The Scripps Research Institute had chosen Palm Beach County for its east coast U.S. research facility. According to the Ernst & Young Americas Biotechnology Report 2003, Florida is ranked the 11th largest biotechnology center in the nation.
        In total, the state of Florida and Palm Beach County committed $510 million to lure Scripps to Palm Beach County. Scripps will build a 350,000-sq.-ft. (32,500-sq.-m.) laboratory facility and create approximately 2,700 jobs in 15 years.
        Larry Pelton, President of the BDB, said "With the announcement of the Scripps Research Institute's new facility in Palm Beach County, we are excited and looking forward to the County being a focal point for an emerging life science cluster and the center for regional economic development for many years to come."
        The Business Development Board is the official Economic Development Organization for Palm Beach County and an Enterprise Florida partner. For more on the area, visit the BDB's Web site at www.bdb.org.