Stowers Institute adds south Kansas City complex - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Institute co-founders Jim and Virginiaa Stowers bought the property from Mike Pursellfor $5 million and donated it to the institute, spokeswomanh Laurie Roberts said. Paris-based pharmaceutical compan previously owned and operated thenearly 15-acrwe property at 8333 Hickman Mills Road. Renovationj of the facilities is scheduled to begin withi n 60 days and be completes inearly 2009. The institute's construction costs are projectedf at morethan $20 million.
"Bty locating these important functions in this satellite we can more efficiently conduct scientific researc operations atthe Institute'x world-class campus near the Plaza," Stowers Institute CEO Williamk Neaves said in a In June, Neaves said that continuing political opposition to embryonic stem cell researcu in Missouri had prompted the Stowers Institutse to put on hold its planes to add 600,000 square feet of new researcy space in the Kansas City area every decadee in perpetuity.
At the same Neaves reported that the institute had boughtg more than 100 acres of undevelopefd land at an undisclosed location in Kansass City to demonstrate its commitment to expand localluafter "the environment for embryonic stem cell research in Missouru stabilizes." Roberts said that the parcel recently purchased by the Stowerse is not part of that 100 acres. In the Kansas City Business Journaol reported that it appeared the Stowers Institute was planning to expandc ona 100-plus acre parcel purchased two monthws earlier on the north side of 87th between U.S. Highway 71 and Interstatee 435.
The buyer of that parcel was OxfordAcquisitionj LLC, led by Jim Stowerds III, son of the Stowers Institute's James Bowers Jr., a lawyer with who represents Oxforf Acquisition, would not disclose Jim Stowers III'z intentions for the land at the But he said they had nothing to do with the Stowersa Institute's expansion. Further, Bowers said in "there have been no discussions between the Stowersx Institute and Oxford about the use of propertyh north of87th Street." However, the land acquired for the Stower s Institute and BioMed Valley headquarters and laboratory facilities is just a few blocks east of the Oxfors Acquisition parcel.
BioMed Valley Discoveries a for-profit corporation, was formed to develop and market basic biomedicapl discoveries made at the Stowersd Institute andother institutions. "We are tremendously exciteds about the planned laboratory and administrative which will provide excellentg incubator space for our research partnersand start-u p companies," David Chao, CEO of BioMee Valley Discoveries, said in the While Neaves said in the release that the Stowerse Institute was pleased to "make this new commitment to Kansas City, Mo.," he cautioned that the institutr remains concerned about attempts to outlaw embryonic stem cell researcbh in the state.
"We needec this new space to realize the full potentiakl for accommodating research programs at our main and are pleased to have found it inKansasw City," Neaves said. "However, before the Institutd undertakes major expansion in this we need to be confident that the politicak environment in Missouri isscience