Phoenix to consider multimillion funding for new UA biosciences facility

The University of Arizona is seeking $16.5 million in funding from Phoenix and a downtown lease for its latest biomedical center.

If approved, The upcoming UA Center for Advanced Molecular and Immunological Therapies, or CAMI, would begin development by the end of this year on land off Seventh Street, next to the UA School of Medicine . The Phoenix City Council votes on the deal Wednesday.

University funding: Arizona universities will lose millions from state budget cuts. What could be removed?

Leaders of the new center promised advances in medicine “with an entrepreneurial spirit.” Researchers will tackle autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases and cancer in the hope of developing novel treatments. Michael Dake, senior vice president for health sciences at the University of Arizona, said having high-quality research centers would also provide a return on the city’s investment.

“The whole city is booming economically,” he said in a TEDx interview in April.

The area, currently a parking lot, is one of the last remaining spaces to be developed in this section of the city’s bioscience core. The new facility would employ about 500 people in various labs and research facilities, including a national biomedical research hub. The deal would also pave the way for the university to acquire the property from the city after the lease ends, as is common for university agreements.

To help finance the project, the city would not charge university rent, which would be $1.85 per square foot. Additionally, the city would add an already budgeted $1.5 million and an additional $1.5 million annually for a decade beginning in 2029. Construction would span 200,000 square feet for the first phase, with investment in capital of 290 million dollars.

Christine Mackay, director of community and economic development, said the agreement is similar to those reached with Arizona State University for the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

The plan was unanimously recommended by Phoenix’s Economic Development and Housing subcommittee earlier this month, with council members excited about new medical research being conducted in the city.

“We will all be better served by the success of these efforts,” said Council Member Kevin Robinson.

Developers want to make the neighborhood more welcoming after the city received feedback from community members saying they felt the bioscience campus was “turning its back on them.” Renderings of the new building show sidewalks winding around the structure with an entrance along Fifth Street. Once construction is complete, CAMI officials hope to make the center a “one-stop shop” for patients.

Helen Rummel covers higher education for the Arizona Republic. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @helenrummel.