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County Considers $6 Million Bait For Draper Lab

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By JACOB SCHNEIDER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 16, 2008

TAMPA - Hillsborough County commissioners are expected to vote today on $6 million in funding to lure a Massachusetts-based high-tech firm company open a research and product-development laboratory at the University of South Florida.

The plan to draw an undisclosed company was first proposed to commissioners in April, but an item before the board today identifies the company as Draper Laboratory.

Draper is a contract researcher in an array of fields, from biomedical engineering to missile-guidance technology. The Tampa project would use nanotechnology to create medical devices and treatments, Rod Casto, director of the USF Research Foundation, said Tuesday.

Even with the commission's approval, the plan is contingent on receiving funds from the state, Casto said. A Draper spokeswoman said the company had made no formal plans with USF and was looking at several sites nationwide for a lab.

If the county and company strike a deal, Draper could set up a $20 million research laboratory at USF as well as a $14 million microchip-production facility with an existing company in St. Petersburg, according to the county staff's recommendation to approve the funding request.

The county's $6 million, along with $4 million of in-kind support from the university in laboratory space and equipment, would make the project eligible for $10 million in matching funds from the Florida Innovation Incentive Program.

The new lab could create as many as 100 jobs, with a ripple effect of as many as 271 additional jobs within five years.

Reporter Jacob Schneider can be reached at (813) 259-7850 or jschneider@tampatrib.com.

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