MONROE, La. (KNOE) – The proposed Biomedical Research and Innovation Park (BRIP) in Monroe is taking a big step forward.
The University of Louisiana Monroe and the City of Monroe have put forward plans to lease land to facilitate the project.
“This is just a wonderful asset to our community,” Monroe Mayor Friday Ellis told KNOE. “As I say, arrow on our quiver. It’s going to be a quality project for the City of Monroe.”
The park will be on the campus of the ULM College of Pharmacy.
“If we can, through BRIP, use our faculty and staff to create healthcare solutions, then it most definitely fits with our mission of changing lives and eradicating poverty in our region,” explained ULM President Dr. Ron Berry.
Mayor Ellis is asking the Monroe City Council to approve the purchase of an eight-acre plot of land on the corner of Tower and Bienville Drives, which the city will then lease to the research park.
“The Tower Armand TIF District has been around for a while,” explained Ellis. “That money has been accumulated. That is the state tax dollars that are being used. No local dollars are being used to purchase this property.”
ULM will also lease 10 acres of land across from the School of Pharmacy.
President Berry said ULM will power the park.
“Because it’s our intellectual capital, our researchers that will work with companies from around the country and world to help create innovative medicine, hopefully, innovative technology that can solve some of the world’s most critical problems,” Dr. Berry told KNOE.
The project has received over $25 million courtesy of state and federal funding to go toward infrastructure, which leaders say should be done by 2025.
“It just shows the power of collaboration and partnership and being at the table to drive a common goal, and the university is in,” Mayor Ellis added. “You name and governing body in the state of Louisiana. They have invested in this project.”
The project is expected to create 175 jobs and has a $30 million impact over five years.
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