Financial troubles brought on by the floundering national economy and California’s ongoing budget crisis have indefinitely halted plans to construct a state-of-the-art stem-cell research facility on the Torrey Pines.
The Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine ‘mdash; a San Diego-based research collective that includes scientists from UCSD and the Buck Institute, among other prominent local institutions ‘mdash; has been unable to secure the loans necessary to build the four-story, 1.35 million-square-foot stem-cell research center planned to reside at North Torrey Pines Road and Torrey Pines Scenic Drive.
The building was to be funded by a combination of philanthropic donations, bank loans and a $43 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine promised last year.
According to Malin Burnham, a member of the Sanford Consortium’s board, the banks considering the loans now claim that they can no longer finance the center’s construction. The SCRM has also expressed doubt that it will receive the additional $43 million in grant funding, considering the state’s current fiscal condition.
Burnham told the San Diego Union-Tribune about a conversation he recently had with a local banker about taking out a $70 million loan for the facility.
‘He [told me], ‘Malin, I’d love to do that deal. I know and like all four of your institutions, but I don’t have any money to lend. The situation may change in 30 to 45 days, but today I just don’t have any liquidity,” Burnham said.
The lack of funds means that SCRM can receive only $39 million of the $133 million necessary to fund the project through its desired completion date in December 2010.
The consortium has been discussing the possibility of relying on private donations to keep the project afloat until the state budget allows otherwise.
Despite funding problems, CIRM board chairman Robert Klein said he is determined to get the research center up and running as soon as possible.
‘We are fully committed to this project,’ Klein told the Union-Tribune. ‘We will do everything we can to support the consortium in completing this project at the earliest possible date … and create this world-class platform for stem-cell research.’
Readers can reach Nimesh Rajakumar at [email protected].