Jackson Lab pursues Sarasota

The Jackson Laboratory picked Sarasota County as its location to build a 120,000-square-foot biomedical research facility, but several obstacles remain to make it a reality.

Jackson Labs employs more than 1,200 at its Bar Harbor, Maine headquarters, and more than 100 at a research facility in Sacramento, Calif.

Before “The Jackson Laboratory — Florida” project breaks ground, the Bar Harbor, Maine-based nonprofit biomedical research institution must lobby Gov. Rick Scott and Sarasota County voters to raise $160 million from taxpayers.

“We have a lot of hurdles to go,” says Teri Hansen, president and CEO of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, a leading partner in the effort to land the lab. Other regional collaborators include the University of South Florida, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System and Sarasota County government.

Hurdles start with the Florida Legislature and Scott approving the funding.

Last year, according to Sen. President Pro Tem Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, the Legislature approved an initial $50 million of a $130 million state funding plan in an effort to bring Jackson to Collier County. The project failed when county officials balked at coming up with $130 million local match. The $50 million went unspent, though, according to Bennett, is still available.

Bennett, whose district includes part of Sarasota County, supports the project and plans to work to get the other $80 million approved this year.

The public share could possibly be split 50/50 between county and state sources. However, Chuck Hewitt, executive vice president of Jax Labs, says, “We're still in the process of developing that for this project.”

Sarasota County voters must also approve two ballot measures.

One, would require voters to approve exceeding the roughly $20 million bonding limit, which is necessary due to a county charter provision. The other would be to approve an increase in property taxes.

If voters and the state go along, construction could begin within 12 months after the referendum. Lab officials say it would operate in temporary facilities once funding is secured.