Elk Run, the long-awaited campus for biotech firms between the Twin Cities and Rochester, might finally be showing signs of life. Tower Investments officials confirmed Wednesday that they've asked for plat map changes to accommodate construction of a 200,000-square-foot building to house a biotech firm seeking to expand. The building would be constructed in phases, with the first phase being a 50,000-square-foot building. Officials hope to break ground in early 2013. Phase I would also bring about 200 biotech jobs to Pine Island, said John Pierce, Tower's senior vice president… Still, Algadi said he remains confident the Elk Run project, which sits on a former elk farm, will one day house biotech innovation. Pine Island sits along the Hwy. 52 corridor between Rochester, home of the Mayo Clinic, and the Twin Cities.

Star Tribune by James Walsh

Tags: biotech, Elk Run, Facilities, John Pierce, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Star Tribune, Tower Investments