Jackson labs saga far from done deal

As the saga of Jackson Laboratories' plods along in Collier County, it's starting to look like the project might drag out like Scripps.

Readers may recall that it took five years from the time California-based Scripps Research Institute announced its new Florida campus in Palm Beach County to when Gov. Charlie Crist cut the ceremonial ribbon for the biotech lab in early 2009. There were plenty of skirmishes over that project, which was stalled by lawsuits by environmentalists against the project's location, among other controversies.

Could Jackson Laboratories, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, bog down in the swamp too? It's unlikely, but lawsuits and politics won't help.

Some vocal taxpayers, politicians and businesses are objecting to the $260 million in government subsidies for non-profit Jackson Laboratories and suing to stop the project. Initially, the lab will employ 244 people, with the promise of thousands more from surrounding businesses and academic centers.

“Jackson Lab has become an embarrassment and it's time for us to move on,” Collier County Commissioner Tom Henning says in a recent statement. “The proposed local funding for Jackson Lab has divided the community and it's time to put this issue behind us and move forward by continuing to do what local government does best — provide service to its residents.”

So far, Henning's been a lone voice on the Collier County commission, but he's likely to get support from newly elected commissioner Georgia Hiller. Still, Henning and Hiller are a minority on the five-person commission, which continues to support efforts to subsidize the lab.

The issue is further complicated by the fact that there's a new administration in Tallahassee and the project requires both state and local agreements by the end of February.

But Mike Hyde, vice president of advancement for Jackson Laboratories, says the difference with Scripps is that Jackson has identified a site that's ready and permitted. The Barron Collier Companies plans to donate the 50-acre site.

Stay tuned.