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South Dakota Governor says biotech future is bright

A $1.3 million commitment by the state will help the South Dakota Technology Business Center better attract cutting-edge companies to Sioux Falls, Gov. Mike Rounds said Thursday.

By:
Jay Kirschenmann
Sioux Falls Argus Leader

Rounds announced the award during a ceremony Thursday at the building site of the center, which is part of the Southeast Technical Institute/USDSU campus in northwest Sioux Falls.

The city has the potential to be a leader in the biotech industry, the governor said.

"We’ve already had success in attracting companies like Hematech, and we are confident that other biotech companies will realize the benefits of doing business in our state," he said.

Hematech – which hopes to make human vaccines from genetically modified cows – announced two weeks ago that it will build a $15 million headquarters and plant on Sioux Falls’ north side. Part of the funding for that expansion comes from a $7.5 million economic-development plan put together by the state.

The foundation is poured, and the walls and roof are in place for the Technology Business Center. It should be open in December.

The $1.3 million boost in construction funding for the center comes from a $650,000 state Future Fund grant, $150,000 from the state’s general fund, and another $500,000 from an as yet undetermined source.

Rounds explained that $500,000 of the total is withheld until companies are ready to move in to the building.

"We’re going to use it to design the actual facilities for the companies themselves," he told a crowd gathered at the construction site.

The 38,000-square-foot building will have room for for between 15 and 20 companies to set up, Rounds said. "There have been 13 companies that already have made contact with the right people in this community to take a look at this place."

Officials later said that they can’t discuss details of the talks or what companies are interested.

Tenants would be in the building for three to five years, long enough to get started before moving on, said Rich Naser, executive director of center.

"No one has signed a lease yet, but we’re still working on the lease agreement," he said. "We’re looking for companies that are new or in their early stages of development."

When the concept of a center was started in 1999, Naser said the intent was to focus on creating high-skill, high-wage jobs in fields such as engineering, information technology and biotechnology.

Construction of the center so far is credited to Forward Sioux Falls, a group formed through the joint effort of the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce and the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

"The state’s help is really going to allow us to do something we could not have done as quickly on our own," said Dan Scott, president of the development foundation. "It puts in place the infrastructure for the needs of a business, allow it to grow up, and eventually to build their own facility."

Round said he doesn’t want to see the growth stop.

"We believe in the future of biotech," Rounds said. "We believe we are perfectly situated in the upper Midwest to see biotech grow, and that this is the right place or them to make a profit."

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