March 17, 2005


A cure, in more ways than one

By Councilmember Nancy Pyle
District 10
Special to the Times

With our valley still suffering from the burst of the dot.com bubble in 2000, we must work extra hard to find the “next new thing” to bring our economy back. In November 2004, California voters passed Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. This statewide ballot measure provided $3 billion in funding for stem-cell research at California universities and research institutions and called for the establishment of an entity to make grants and provide loans for stem-cell research, research facilities, and other vital research opportunities.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is known as CIRM.

The San Jose City Council and Chamber of Commerce were among the first of their peers statewide to support the measure. More than two-thirds of San Jose voters voted in favor of it, above the statewide average.

On behalf of CIRM, the State of California Department of General Services submitted a Request for Proposals (RFP) on Feb. 28, 2005, for office space to host the 50-person CIRM headquarters operation (approximately 17,000 net usable square feet and a minimum 40 parking spaces).

In the RFP, the state requests that the interested governmental entities provide certain incentives and professional services to the State, which would benefit the implementation of CIRM objectives. The state’s preferences include:

• No-cost rent for the first four years. No-cost or below-market rent for years five through 10.
• No-/low-cost conference facilities that can accommodate 150-plus people for at least six days per year.
• No-/low-cost hotel facilities.

Proposals are due in Sacramento on March 16, 2005, by 5 p.m. Anticipated competition includes San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Mateo County.

Benefits to San Jose
Securing the headquarters operation of CIRM will benefit San Jose in the following ways:

• Gain recognition as a key leadership center for a next wave of innovation related to bioscience. CIRM’s location in San Jose will solidify San Jose/Silicon Valley as the world’s leading center for innovation, at a critical time.

• Establish an “anchor” institution that will attract researchers, entrepreneurs, business visitors, and affiliated organizations, stimulating our local economy and helping to diversify our area’s driving industry job base.

• Provide another avenue to accelerate technology convergence—linkages among Silicon Valley’s diverse technology fields—that can benefit a wide array of business sectors.

• Attract the “best of the best” talent in the fields of regenerative medicine, continuing our tradition of attracting the best people nationally and internationally.

• Attract additional resources in terms of venture capital and additional research funds.

• Significantly enhance the City’s efforts to become a leader in the bio-medical field and leverage our recent $6.5 million investment in the San Jose BioCenter.

• Help to form relationships with World Bioscience Regions.

In April, Mayor Gonzales will sign an “Economic Partnership Agreement” with the Cambridge/East of England north of London. This region is the UK’s leading region for innovation and technology, and is one of Europe’s leading bioscience communities.

Hosting the headquarters of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is a rare opportunity to contribute the best San Jose has to offer to advance one of the most worthwhile civic and economic development initiatives underway in the world today.

Public support
San Jose’s proposal has been endorsed by the major regional economic organizations in Silicon Valley—the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber, the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, and Joint Venture: Silicon Valley. Letters of endorsement are being received by state and federal political leaders as well.

Should our city be fortunate enough to secure the CIRM headquarters, San Jose will help cure what ails our local economy while simultaneously finding cures for such diseases as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

I will keep you apprised of the progress of these exciting opportunities for our community through my email newsletter.

Please sign up to receive my e-newsletter on my website at www.sanjoseca.gov/district10.