The investment, from Building PA funds approved by the Commonwealth Financing Authority, will create new jobs and help The Ferchill Group build valuable biotechnology research facilities in Allegheny County that will continue to grow the state's research and development industry.
"This new biotechnology facility will be a great addition to southwestern Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh Technology Center," Rendell said. "We're investing key resources to create new opportunities all across the commonwealth."
"Because of its strategic location in the Greater Oakland Keystone Innovation Zone, this facility will make valuable wet lab space available for lease by nearby universities and hospitals. Several companies have expressed the need for such space in close proximity to the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Carnegie Mellon."
"Though the Building PA program we are able to offer real help for Pennsylvania's communities in the form of jobs, increased local revenues and business growth," Rendell said. "This funding is breathing new life into an old brownfield site by creating a facility that will attract new health care, education, high technology and research jobs for the local economy."
The state's Building PA program provides $150 million in funding that must be matched by private investors and foundations. The resulting $300 million fund serves as much-needed "mezzanine" capital for real estate developers committed to revitalizing existing assets, particularly in small to mid-sized Pennsylvania communities. The program is one of the 19 programs created under the governor's innovative $2.8 billion economic stimulus package.
