Mayo Clinic throws its support behind Elk Run

By Jeffrey Pieters - [excerpt from Post-Bulletin, Rochester, MN]
April 28, 2009

The Elk Run biobusiness park has a big new backer.

Mayo Clinic CEO Dr. Denis Cortese on Tuesday threw Mayo's support behind the 2,300-acre project planned in Pine Island.

"We're just supporting it in any way we can, because we see a real benefit down the road," he said.

Cortese made his remarks at the city-county Government Center, seated with a group of proponents of Elk Run.

Elk Run would serve as, among other things, an incubator for startup biotechnology businesses.

The business environment, as bad as it appears nationally, is favorable for a Midwestern project like Elk Run, planners said.

"There's such a concentration on the cost of doing business nowadays," said John Pierce, vice president of Tower Investments, the California-based company developing Elk Run.

"We've gotten a lot of interest (from biobusinesses), because, frankly, we may be a lot more competitive from a cost standpoint," he said.