“It’s about attracting scientists to our metropolitan area and greater jobs that are of high quality,” said County Executive Charlie A. Dooley, in announcing the Helix Center and Helix Fund in St. Louis.
“This puts us in a cluster of high technology.”
The county executive is partnering on the initiative with the St. Louis County Economic Council and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.
“With all three working together, that will bring talented people to St. Louis,” said Sheila M. Sweeney, board chair of St. Louis County Economic Council.
The Helix Center is a small business incubator for plant and life science companies designed to help emerging companies grow, graduate and continue to flourish. 7
The center offers affordable lease rates, wet and dry laboratories and office space of 33,000 square feet. The completion of the center is scheduled for 2011. It is centrally located near Danforth Plant Science Center, BRDG Park, Nidus and Monsanto.
The Helix Fund supports entrepreneurship in the plant and life science sector by providing early stage capital and other financial support for advancing the commercialization of technology and innovation.
The fund provides $1.5 million for plant and life science entrepreneurs living or working in St. Louis County. Other opportunities for St. Louis is a loan or deal-closing fund for mature, small- to mid-sized companies with financial support for experienced entrepreneurial and venture capital talent.
“St. Louis County is committed to promoting a robust environment for entrepreneurship in plant and life sciences through cooperation and partnership,” Dooley said.
“The Helix Fund and Helix Center will address both the financial and physical needs that early stage ventures require to develop and grow.”
Sweeney said the center would help St. Louis become more green and bring more people to the area to conduct researchin the plant and science field.
“The job creation and our investment will spur other investments,” Sweeney said. “We’ll get more people interested in being here, there will be research going on and things will be discovered.”
Dooley joined Danforth center and other officials for the announcement soon after Bill Corrigan, the Republican running against him for county executive, announced his economic plan for St. Louis County, which stressed the need for support of entrpereneurs and the courtship of venture capital.
Corrigan has been critical of the County’s business incubators, claiming they are neglected and under-utilized.
