Scripps, which served as the seed for the burgeoning bioscience industry in San Diego, is expected to jump-start Florida's economic development in biotechnology. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush met with Scripps officials in California in the summer of 2003 to discuss replicating the company's West Coast success in the Sunshine State. The discussions quickly led to signed contracts between Scripps and the State of Florida in December 2003, and with Palm Beach County in February 2004.

According to the operating agreement, Scripps Florida will anchor a 2,000-acre research-and-development park and eventually occupy more than 350,000 sf of space in three buildings on approximately 100 acres in the park. The buildings, slated to be ready for occupancy by July 2007, will accommodate 545 full-time employees and will cost approximately $137 million for design and construction. Scripps has agreed to create high-paying jobs, provide student internships, offer teacher training programs, and collaborate with local universities on research projects.

The state is providing $359 million over seven years to support operating costs, equipment purchases, and the recruitment of highly qualified scientists, while the county's contribution of more than $300 million is earmarked for capital expenses with the number expected to approach $500 million over the 30-year build-out of the park. The county is also providing the necessary infrastructure.

"The vision we have in mind is a world-class research-and-development park," says Ben Morris, vice president of facilities services for Scripps in California.

Selecting a Suitable Project Site

Choosing an area of Florida that would be the most appropriate for the creation of the Palm Beach County Biotechnology Research Park hinged upon finding a location that closely resembles La Jolla/San Diego in terms of its cultural and educational amenities, excellent transportation system, and proximity to a large metropolitan area. Although Tampa Bay, Orlando, and Fort Myers were also considered, Palm Beach County was the best fit for meeting the selection criteria.

The next step was identifying a specific project site where Scripps and the other biotech companies would be located. It was important to find an area that could accommodate the large development and provide a clean palette for designing a biotech community.

"We need about 100 acres for our campus and at least 400 acres around us to replicate what is actually the core of Torrey Pines," says Morris. "In order to achieve a similar level of economic stimulus, we need a biotech cluster that will still be thriving 30 or 40 years from now, so we need a large piece of property."

An area known as Mecca Farms, which had previously been used as a citrus grove for 30 years, provided the ideal location. The property is surrounded by a residential community, undeveloped land owned by various property owners, and the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area. The farm spans approximately 2,000 acres and is capable of accommodating the ongoing, future expansion of the park.

"The land was used as a citrus grove so there were no major environmental issues that had to be addressed," notes Morris. "The location is also far away from the core of the population and it's important for us to be somewhat isolated when considering how large this development is going to become."

In addition to the Scripps campus, related biotech research firms, and other scientific companies, the park will include a medical clinic or small hospital associated with the researchers, a university campus for graduate studies, residential areas consisting of workforce housing for graduate students, parks, wetlands, lakes, pedestrian and equestrian trails, and a commercial town center with amenities such as a bookstore, restaurants, dry cleaners, and doggie day care center.

"It is designed as an integrated research park with all of the amenities necessary to attract world-class scientists," says Morris. "The county has done a nice job of designing a park where the employees will have commercial amenities and recreational activities, such as trails and bike paths, right outside their place of work."

Overcoming Challenges

Once the site selection process was completed, master planning was started with the understanding that the schedule would be extremely fast-paced in order to meet project goals and deadlines set forth between the company, the state, and the county. For example, the agreement with the state required Scripps to immediately begin hiring scientists, even before any of the new buildings were constructed. This meant Scripps had to locate existing lab space to accommodate the researchers and support staff.

Within days of signing the documents with the state, Scripps located 10,000 sf of lab space in four buildings on the Boca Raton campus of Florida Atlantic University (FAU). Employees utilized the space from December 2003 until February of this year when they were relocated to a newly constructed building on the Jupiter campus of FAU. Construction of the $12-million lab facility, which features 41,500 sf on two stories, was completed in December 2004 as a temporary location until Scripps completes construction of its primary buildings.

Construction was supposed to start in January on the three permanent Scripps' facilities, which will include buildings specifically designed for administration and advanced technology, molecular biology, and drug discovery. However, severe weather conditions including two hurricanes last year delayed Palm Beach County's ability to complete the site preparation that was necessary before construction could begin. Therefore, Scripps must build a second temporary facility to provide work space for additional employees who will be hired before the permanent buildings are completed.

This second facility represents an unexpected detour in the original plans and will cost $13 million. Design work is currently under way with completion of the 33,000-sf building scheduled for August 2006. About 100 employees will occupy the building.

"This will allow us to continue to grow, despite the delays in the permanent construction," says Morris. "We're overcoming these delays by putting more people into the temporary buildings than we normally would."

The county completed the site development work in May and Scripps is currently accepting bids for the construction, which is expected to begin by the end of September. It is unclear what impact the time delays will have on the original budget projections of $137 million.

Planning Strategies

Palm Beach County, which has experience in facilities management, made the Scripps project a top priority. Key personnel in the county's planning, zoning, building, engineering, and facilities departments comprised the master planning team, along with planning officials from Scripps and expert consultants. All of the teams working on the project are abiding by the same joint coordinated master schedule. The schedule is updated weekly and can be accessed 24/7 through the Web application.

The rigorous schedule calls for Scripps to construct their buildings at almost the same time the county is installing the basic infrastructure, laying the pipe for water and sewer, bringing in the utilities, and building roads through the area. There could be as many as a dozen contractors working on site at the same time. Having weekly meetings to discuss the schedule with all parties ensures everyone understands the importance of working toward the same goals.

"A tremendous number of teams had to be organized and we had to hire special people to help us due to the size and location of the project," says Morris. "We needed people who understand the complexities, the schedule, and the politics. We have one schedule for every activity, which I think is another shaping process that has been working very well."

Organization of the teams was followed by obtaining the necessary local, state, and federal approvals. Florida lawmakers passed special legislation to expedite the state approval process for the project and to clear the way for work to begin.

More than 900 acres of filling and grading is necessary to contour the land for development. The earthwork and land excavation to create three lakes will cost more than $10 million. A surface water management system must be installed to connect the lakes in order to be able to pump water from the southernmost lake into a flow way natural area. The system, consisting of a pump station, lake interconnecting pipes, and underground piping, will cost $6.6 million.

"The topography of Florida is extremely low and flat, so we need the ability to convey the surface water to a management system to allow for proper drainage," notes Morris.

The installation of utilities such as water storage tanks, pumping facility, wastewater pump station, irrigation system, and the necessary piping will cost an additional $9.5 million. Landscaping and irrigation will cost $6.8 million, while paving, curbing, and installing lighting for the public streets and thoroughfares will cost just under $20 million.

A 250-acre buffer with 14 acres of trees will be created between the park and the surrounding J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area at a cost of $4.4 million. Plans also call for nearly $5 million to be spent for the planting of marsh and forested wetlands and the creation of natural areas for public recreational activities. An ultra-wide sidewalk and cart path with decorative lighting and benches, as well as hiking and pedestrian trails, street lighting, landscaping, and thoroughfare roads are included in the plan with a price tag of just over $3 million.

Keys to Success

In-depth planning and an ongoing commitment from all key players is essential to the success of a large-scale project that involves thousands of acres, millions of dollars, and numerous companies.

"Constantly communicating and remaining focused are extremely important in this kind of high-profile project because there are so many distractions that are constantly taking your attention away," says Morris. "Being able to react quickly to unexpected delays and changes in the original plans has kept the project moving forward."

Scripps Florida demonstrates the complexities of not only embarking on an enormous project, but also stepping outside a company's comfort zone by opening shop on the other side of the country. Projects in this realm of difficulty require collaboration with individuals and companies who specialize in this type of work.

"Most facilities departments are not staffed to handle large, complicated projects that are located across the country," says Morris. "It's critical to recognize the need to bolster your staff with contract employees for the duration of the project. We had to mobilize teams from throughout the country because we needed extra help who could be our boots on the ground in Florida."

By Tracy Carbasho

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