Critical to the success of the Danforth Center is the third point of our mission to “enhance our region as a world center for plant science.” The most visible result of this commitment is the new Bio-Research & Development Growth Park (pronounced BRIDGE PARK) located on our campus.
Several years ago the Center set aside eight acres of our campus in the hopes of finding a developer that would build commercial wet lab space for small companies and for related plant science activities. We were fortunate to find Wexford Science +Technology LLC, a privately held real estate developer and investment company specializing in major university facilities and science research parks nationwide.
With its collocation on our campus, BRDG Park provides emerging life science and clean-tech start-ups with the tools and facilities they need to increase their chances of success – interactions between top scientists and access to state-of-the-art core facilities such as research grade greenhouses, growth rooms and chambers, a microscopy suite, a proteomics facility, and a tissue transformation complex.
The first of what we hope will ultimately be a three building campus, opened in June 2009 and features world-class wet laboratories and office space, a prominent incubator, and on-site workforce development and training program.
If we are successful, BRDG Park will serve as a vital resource for homegrown plant science startup companies as well as a beacon for attracting established plant science companies from across the country and around the world to our region.
