The City of Orlando Celebrates Opening of World-Class Medical Center

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(News Source: City of Orlando)

(ORLANDO, FL) -- This past Thursday Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer was joined by Florida Governor Charlie Crist and Orange County Mayor Richard Crotty to officially open the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (BIMR).  The opening ceremonies brought together more than 800 business leaders, scientists and politicians ranging from Attorney General Bill McCollum to City and County Commissioners.  The BIMR is a key component of Orlando's emerging Medical City or as Governor Crist called it a "medical planet."

The City of Orlando has made a strategic commitment to pursue biomedical and life sciences companies to locate to the Central Florida community to secure the future of a medical cluster.  These industries were targeted to diversify the economy, create thousands of high-wage and high-value jobs for the region and provide world-class health care options to residents and visitors.

"I am pleased to celebrate the opening of the Burnham Institute's east coast headquarters - the heart beat of our Medical City," said Mayor Dyer.  "This could not have happened without the hard work of people and organizations coming together, collaborating and partnering."

The success in recruiting biotech and life science companies that has led to the emergence of this Medical City is a result of unprecedented cooperation in Central Florida that will benefit the region for decades to come.  Nearly $1 billion in public funding has been secured for Medical City projects worth more than $1.5 billion.

"We chose Orlando to locate our east coast headquarters because of the highly collaborative environment and strong community support," said Dr. John Reed, President and CEO of the Burnham Institute for Medical Research.  "We knew Burnham would flourish in this synergetic setting."

As a result of the City of Orlando's efforts and partnerships the University of Central Florida (UCF) College of Medicine, Burnett School of Biomedical sciences, MD Anderson Orlando Cancer Research Institute (CRI), Nemours Children's Hospital, Orlando VA Medical Center and University of Florida Research Center will all locate in Orlando's Medical City.

The foundation for this Medical City was laid nearly a decade ago with a more than $80 million investment by the City to build roads and infrastructure at Lake Nona in Orlando.  In addition, the City created the Southeast Orlando Sector Plan - one of the largest urban planning and development projects ever undertaken - to develop a strategic, smart growth plan that builds on the life science cluster and strengthens the livability of the entire community.

What was once a vision to create a Medical City in Orlando is now scheduled for total completion in 2012.

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