Jackson partners with USF

Jackson Laboratory, a Maine-based nonprofit research institute that plans to establish a campus in Collier County, will partner with the University of South Florida to help realize the hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact that officials are expecting.

The process of bringing Jackson to Collier has made headlines due to the organization's hefty price tag — to open a lab facility in Southwest Florida, the firm needs $380 million. (See our “Costly Clusters” story for further detail.)

But the County remains hopeful that the deal will pay major dividends for the local economy, and a relationship with USF may help.