VR Labs approved for $5M grant

FORT MYERS — The Fort Myers Regional Partnership approved $5 million in financial incentives to attract VR Laboratories LLC to Lee County. VR plans to create 208 new jobs over the next five years, paying an average annual wage of $66,850.

VR Laboratories is a new venture — not a relocating business — that will formulate and produce FDA-approved botanical pharmaceuticals, according to a release issued by the Partnership.

The money for the incentives comes from Lee County's Financial Incentives for Recruiting Strategic Targets (FIRST) reserves, which has $25 million set aside to attract new businesses to the area.

VR Labs had sought to tap into a $42 million-pool of bonds made available through the American Recovery Investment Act at the end of last year, but in the end was unable to access the funding.