GlobeSt.com UPDATE: Stem Cell Institute, City Formalize Relationship

SAN FRANCISCO-The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine on Wednesday came one step closer to its permanent home with the signing of a certification agreement with the city. The agreement guarantees the incentives offered in the San Francisco bid aside from its office space at 250 King St. The city’s package included free hotel and conference facilities, with architectural design donated by Gensler and tenant improvements provided by Hathaway Dinwiddie. The owner of 250 King St., Terry Francher, and the state Department of General Services officially executed the no-cost lease for the space earlier this week. The CIRM is expected to move into its new headquarters this fall. The Institute was established in 2004 with the passage of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. The CIRM’s headquarters is expected to house approximately 50 employees and serve as the central location from which the organization will administer some $3 billion in state funds for stem cell research to California universities and research institutions over the next 10 yearsAs part of a bidding process to determine the location of its permanent headquarters, CIRM asked local governments, working in partnership with building owners, to provide approximately 17,000 sf of office space at little or no cost. The Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee selected San Francisco as the permanent headquarters in early May .San Francisco was among four cities evaluated by the Oversight Committee for CIRM’s permanent headquarters. The other three cities were San Diego, Sacramento and Emeryville, which is home to the Institute’s temporary headquarters. Based on a scored evaluation of the cities’ written proposals and site meetings, the committee recommended San Francisco as the finalist, and Sacramento as the runner-up. Because San Diego’s combined score was within one point of Sacramento’s total, each of the three cities was asked to make a 10-minute presentation before the ICOC prior to the final vote.