Bioscience center gets $100,000

HOLLAND TOWNSHIP -- A $100,000 grant from the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area is the first donation for the Michigan State University Bioscience Research and Commercialization Center.

The award is the largest given by the foundation, Executive Director Janet DeYoung said.

"The gift underscores the foundation's belief's that the potential impact of this project is so far reaching it warrants an investment above and beyond anything we have done in the past," she said.

The donation is being funneled through Lakeshore Advantage, the Holland/Zeeland area economic development organization that brokered the deal and is working with MSU to raise funds to cover start-up operations costs.

"This is a powerful example of how committed our community is to the success of this project," said Randy Thelen, Lakeshore Advantage president.

"The grant will be used to leverage additional support for the project. Its specific use will be determined as other gifts are secured and committed."

The 140,000-square-foot high-tech laboratory provides researchers an opportunity to scale up their research for commercial prototyping.

While neither Thelen nor MSU officials are saying publicly how much they plan to raise or the center's timeline, the goal is to open the facility in January.

A big chunk of funding will come from the state.

Area state legislators are lobbying for up to $20 million in state funding for the facility. The aim is to leverage about $5 million in local donations to raise up to $4 million annually in state dollars for five years, state Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland has said.

The facility is intended eventually to become self-funded.The money from the state would accompany donation of the $50 million facility from Pfizer Inc. to MSU.