The Salt River Pima- Maricopa Indian Community has announced plans to construct a large biomedical campus off Loop 101 near Shea Boulevard.

According to the Business Journal, construction of the 60,000-square-foot first phase, 50 percent of which will be allocated for wet lab space, will begin next year. The build-out size of the site could reach 390,000 square feet.

David Fordon, president of the Salt River Development Corp., told the Business Journal that the site could also include a regional Native American-focused hospital. Salt River Development Corp. is an economic development arm of the tribal community that works on growth projects.

The additional space is welcome at a time when the lack of wet labs is one of key challenges facing efforts to build a statewide biotech cluster.

And since some tribal populations traditionally experience high frequencies of certain medical problems, such as diabetes and heart disease, the establishment of the facility could also signal new opportunities for federal, academic, and private-sector research grants.

The tribal hospital is but one component of the Salt River tribe's long-term economic development plans for its portion of Loop 101, unveiled last year under the rubric Generation 7. Those plans call for establishing hubs of development along the highway, including a tourism hub.

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For more information:

"Salt River Pima Community aids biotech push with campus," Business Journal, 05/28/2004