Aurora Sentinel: 'Man with a plan: Fitzsimons redevelopment guru bringing DTC drive to Aurora’s Anschutz'

Quoting from today's posting by Brandon Johannson:

"FRA last week announced the hiring of longtime Denver real estate developer John Shaw to oversee its real estate projects in the district. 

Shaw, who oversaw the Denver Tech Center in the 1980s and worked on the redevelopment that saw the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center morph into Anschutz, said he looks forward to what the future holds for the area.

'It is absolutely staggering the amount of activity that has occurred at Fitzsimons,' he said. 'But the wonderful part is that we have 150 acres now to complete that park. And we have the opportunity to really think through how it should be developed.'

The FRA’s land includes much of the land north of East Montview Boulevard, including the old Fitzsimons golf course. The group’s development plans have called for turning that land into a thriving business park where bioscience and other high-tech companies mingle with researchers and other academics from the medical campus across Montview."

Link to the full article at AuroraSentinel.com

(Marla R. Keown/Aurora Sentinel) - Link to the posting

Well-Known Denver Real Estate Developer John M. Shaw to Oversee Properties in the Colorado Life Science District at Fitzsimons

Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority (FRA) has selected John M. Shaw as a consultant to oversee its real estate projects in the Colorado Life Science District at Fitzsimons. The announcement is made by Steve VanNurden, FRA President & CEO, who says, "John brings more than three decades of leadership and experience in successful real estate development, operational management and civic engagement to FRA’s projects.”

Over his career, Shaw has managed the development of more than 20 million square feet of commercial properties throughout the western United States. He recently left his position as Executive Vice President of McWhinney, a Colorado-based development company with significant assets in Loveland, Broomfield and Denver.

Further, VanNurden says, “John’s extensive track record of successful real estate development projects makes him the ideal partner to continue the FRA’s vision to build a world class life science district at Fitzsimons.”

Link to the PitchEngine posting

Recent Groundbreaking: Bioscience 2 Building 

In April, FRA in conjunction with the University of Colorado broke ground on the new Bioscience 2 building. Quoting VanNurden from the March 26th release: “The new Bioscience 2 building will not only be home to the University’s innovative bioengineering program, it will provide a unique opportunity for commercial bioscience companies to interact on a daily basis with highly talented students from the university.” For more information, visit: http://www.ucdenver.edu/about/newsroom/newsreleases/Pages/Bioscience-2-opening-new-idea-new-building.aspx.

Denver Post: 'Four growing biotech firms move into Fitzsimons Accelerator Building'

Quoting from the August 23rd article by John Mossman:

"The Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority is celebrating the move of four startup companies from the Bioscience Park Center 'incubator' to its new wing known as the 'accelerator.'

The four biotech companies — Mitomics USA, Greffex Inc., Touch of Life Technologies and Light Labs — are among 39 firms that have been housed in Bioscience Park Center. They have run out of room and are graduating to the $8 million, three-story, 37,000-square-foot expansion, taking up most of that space. The new facility already is 78 percent leased.

'It's a nice problem to have when you haven't even opened your new building yet and you could potentially now be limited in space again,' said the authority's new president and chief executive, Steve VanNurden."

Link to denverpost.com

Aurora Sentinel: 'FRA celebrates grand opening of new wing'

Quoting from the August 22nd Aurora Sentinel:

"The FRA on Wednesday unveiled the new wing at their headquarters, a state-of-the-art addition that dramatically expanded the building at 12635 E. Montview Boulevard by about 50 percent. Steve VanNurdern, the FRA’s executive director, the new space is already about 80 percent full.

The FRA’s grand opening was scheduled for July 25, but they pushed it back to Aug. 22 because of the Aurora theater shootings. The first new tenant, Greffex Inc., moved into its new space this month. Next month, the other three new tenants — Mitomics, Touch of Life Technologies and LightLabs — are scheduled to move in.

The new wing will add about 40,000 square feet to the 60,000-square-foot home to the FRA and hub of the burgeoning Life Science District. The project is an important step for the district, officials say, because it will provide space for more advanced companies that are ready to take the next step beyond the facilities the building currently offers."

Link to the Aurora Sentinel

Colorado: Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority Opens New Accelerator in its Life Science District

Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority (FRA) officially opens its new $8 million, 37,000 square-foot Accelerator Building today, adjacent to its original Incubator Building at the Bioscience Park Center (BCP) in the Fitzsimons Life Science District.

The announcement is made by Steve VanNurden, FRA President and CEO, who says, "The addition of this Accelerator will offer companies growing in the Incubator an opportunity to expand and continue their expansion nearby."

The FRA's original Incubator Building opened in 2000 and now houses 35 companies in different stages of development. The expansion will enable companies to move into larger, long-term space. The new space includes:

* Built-to-suit spaces with access to incubator services and amenities

* World class resources at your finger tips - university research facilities and major medical centers

* Collaborative environment with complimentary business and networking opportunities

"The Bioscience Park Center is designed to foster a collaborative environment—by having established companies in close proximity to incubator startups—further promoting an essential atmosphere that makes the Fitzsimons Life Science District an important hub in the overall growth of Colorado’s bioscience industry," VanNurden explains. "Companies relocating to the Accelerator include: Mitomics, Touch of Life Technologies, LightLabs and Greffex."

Concurrent with the Accelerator's completion, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has been retained by the FRA to market its new facility adjacent to the Business Incubator. Speaking on behalf of the national firm, JLL Broker Lindsay Gilbert says, "Colorado's Bioscience Industry is poised for growth, particularly at the research and patient-centric life sciences district at Fitzsimons. Our firm is thrilled to be partnering with Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority at this time of explosive growth for the district."

Link to the PR Web Newswire

Link to the PitchEngine Social Media Release

DBJ: 'Fitzsimons changes focus to better nurture startups'

Quoting from the article by Greg Avery on Steve VanNurden, recently appointed Pres/CEO of the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority:

"VanNurden’s hiring completes a shift making the FRA less of a real estate organization and one more focused on helping to attract and find resources for medical and technology businesses that want to be in the park.

'Rather than make this a real estate play, we’re going to make this a biosciences community,' he said. 'We have all the ingredients to be able to do that; we just need to put them in the right places.'. .

. . . . Near VanNurden’s office door, construction workers are finishing the interior of an $8 million expansion of the building that houses the FRA headquarters and 3½ floors of labs and offices for 38 bioscience startups, most of which come from the university labs across the street.

The new wing was considered speculative development when it was announced two years ago, but demand for it proved strong.

The expansion opens July 25, and it will be 90 percent occupied. Four companies — Isogenis, Inc., LightLabs, Mitomics and Touch of Life Technologies — are moving in. They outgrew their space in the bioscience incubator building, said Vicki Jenings, the FRA’s director of business relations.

VanNurden hopes the growth of companies incubated on the campus will drive demand for more buildings, and that some large companies result from the homegrown tenants.

He plans to look beyond the FRA’s immediate surroundings for tenant companies. He envisions the park one day attracting computer technology companies and clinical-trials management companies, not just strictly drug and medical-device research companies. . .

. . . On July 3, VanNurden realized a longtime industry contact had a layover at DIA. VanNurden — who declined to identify that person’s company, saying only that it’s well-known — picked up the person and his colleagues, and gave them an impromptu tour of Fitzsimons and information about the work being done on the campus before returning them to DIA.

'They didn’t know what this was, and they were very interested to discover what’s going on here,' he said."

Link to the Denver Business Journal

LifeScience: 'Aurora Bioscience district gets new boss with big experience'

Quoting from the July 3 Aurora Sentinel article by Brandon Johansson:

"Steve VanNurden is excited for the new expansion wing at the Bioscience Park Center, Thursday afternoon, June 28, at the Fitzsimons Life Science District. VanNurden took over as President and CEO in late May...

...That growth and the momentum he sees being built was what drew VanNurden from Mayo Clinic Ventures in Rochester, Minn. to the FRA.

VanNurden started at Mayo 22 years ago after a career with agriculture-industry giant Cargill.

A few years prior, Mayo had launched Mayo Clinic Ventures, which aimed to take the world-class research happening at Mayo, and turn it into bioscience and biotechnology companies.

Since then, he helped start about 50 individual companies.

That ability to take the ideas that sprout from medical research and turn them into profitable companies has local officials excited about VanNurden’s arrival at the FRA.

Mark Spiecker, CEO of Sharklet Technologies, one of the 39 companies at the FRA’s Bioscience Park Center, said VanNurden is the perfect fit for the organization.

Across the health-care industry, Mayo is seen as a model for technology development and funding, Spiecker said, and Mayo Clinic Ventures is well-known as a place where breakthrough technologies become startup companies.

'Having a guy that used to run that program is a great opportunity for us,' he said.

Holli Riebel, CEO of the Colorado Bioscience Association, said landing VanNurden was a sign that Colorado’s burgeoning bioscience industry is gaining credibility around the country. 'I think it’s a real coup for us to be able to attract Steve,' she said.

His background with starting bioscience companies will be ideal at the FRA, where officials have announced an enhanced focus on building relationships with the rest of the state’s bioscience industry, she said.

'That’s really what we’re trying to do,' she said."

Link to the full article

'The mother of inventions...Denise Brown stepping down from unique Colorado projects and an industry she helped create'

Quoting from the April 10th article on Denise Brown's career growing Colorado's Bioscience Industry by Brandon Johannson:

"When she retires next month, Brown will cap a career during which she has been as involved in Colorado and Aurora’s booming bioscience industry as just about anyone.

After working in the state legislature and the governor’s office, Brown spent 17 years at CU before launching the Colorado BioScience Association a decade ago."

Link to the Aurora Sentinel

MedCity News: 'Mayo Clinic Ventures’ chair leaving to bolster bioscience efforts in Colorado'

Quoting from the website dedicated to covering news from the country's elite medical cities:

"A Colorado redevelopment authority charged with developing a bioscience district near the University of Colorado campus in Aurora has appointed the head of Mayo Clinic Ventures as its new leader.

Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority announced that Steve VanNurden will become the group’s new president and CEO starting in late May. FRA was created in 1996 as a partnership between the University of Colorado and the city of Aurora. Now, FRA in partnership with the University, the city of Aurora and the Children’s hospital and other public entities have acquired land that is part of an ambitious effort to transform the area from an old army medical center into a thriving bioscience hub."

Link to the news posting

Rochester Post-Bulletin: 'Van Nurden departs Mayo'

Quoting from coverage today by Jeff Kiger:

"The head of a Mayo Clinic branch that commercializes its patents and inventions is moving on to a new position with the city of Aurora, Colo.

Steve Van Nurden, the chair of Mayo Clinic Ventures, has been hired as the president and chief executive officer of the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority in Aurora. That means he will be in charge of developing the 180-acre Colorado Science + Technology Park.

He will start his new job in May."

Link to the news item

Kiger also blogged about the news yesterday in the posting 'Mayo Clinic Ventures leader leaving for Colorado gig' - link to read

Twin Cities Business Journal: 'Mayo executive named CEO of Colorado life science group'

Quoting from yesterday's posting on the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal site:

"Mayo Clinic executive Steve VanNurden has been named CEO of the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority, which supports life science companies in Colorado.

VanNurden is chairman of Mayo Clinic Ventures, which is responsible for patenting and commercializing Mayo’s discoveries, inventions and other intellectual property.

More than 45 startups based on technology from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo have formed under VanNurden's leadership."

Link to the news item

DBJ: 'Mayo Clinic exec to lead Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority'

Quoting from Heather Draper's news posting yesterday:

"The Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority (FRA) has named Mayo Clinic executive Steve VanNurden as its new president and CEO, beginning in late May...

VanNurden will be working with universities, local economic development agencies, state and local governments, and the bioscience industry to promote the development of the 180-acre Colorado Science + Technology Park, adjacent to the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.

The Colorado Science + Technology Park is the center of The Fitzsimons Life Science District, one of the nation’s largest bioscience developments. The FRA directs the commercial developments in the Fitzsimons Life Science District, along with its partner, Forest City Science + Technology Group."

Link to the Denver Business Journal

Breaking News: 'Colorado's Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority Names New President & CEO'

Posted online yesterday by Margaret Jackson and in this morning's print edition (page 7B: 'Mayo leader comes to Fitzsimons'). Quoting the coverage:

"Following a nationwide search, the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority has named Steve VanNurden as its new president and chief executive

VanNurden currently is chair of Mayo Clinic Ventures, the invention arm of the Mayo Clinic. The division is responsible for patenting and commercializing Mayo's discoveries, inventions and other intellectual property. More than 45 startups based on Mayo technology have formed under VanNurden's leadership...

The third phase is hiring new management to replace Denise Brown, who has been serving as acting executive director. VanNurden starts his new job in May."

Link to denverpost.com

Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority Names New President & CEO

Aurora, CO, March 14, 2012 - Following an extensive national search, Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority (FRA) has named Steve VanNurden as its new President and Chief Executive Officer, beginning in late May. The announcement is made by John M. Shaw, Chair of the FRA Board of Directors, who said: "Steve, a seasoned leader in the life science/bioscience space, comes to us from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota."

The appointment of Mr. VanNurden is further evidence of the FRA's continued commitment to support the development of life science companies in Colorado in partnership with the State’s research institutions. He will be working with universities, local economic development agencies, state and local governments, and the bioscience industry to promote the successful development of the 180 acre Colorado Science + Technology Park, which is adjacent to the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.

Steve Hogan, Mayor of the City of Aurora and FRA Board member stated, “Steve is the partner we need to fulfill the promise of the bioscience industry park. His working relationships span nationally and internationally, which will be a great advantage for us.”

Steve VanNurden is currently Chair of Mayo Clinic Ventures, the invention arm for Mayo Clinic. Under Mr. VanNurden’s direction, this division is responsible for patenting and commercializing Mayo’s discoveries, inventions and other intellectual property. Since 1986, Mayo Clinic Ventures has successfully commercialized over 2,000 technologies and has been granted more than 1,200 patents. Under the guidance of Mr. VanNurden, Mayo’s technology based ventures efforts have paid off, resulting in the formation of 45+ Mayo Clinic start-up companies.

Link to the PitchEngine Social Media Release

Link to the PR Newswire Release

Aurora Sentinel: 'New directions for Fitzsimons Life Science District'

Quoting from the December 15th article:

"With new board members seated, a search on for a new executive director, and construction crews working on a shiny new wing to their headquarters, the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority is undergoing some substantial changes.

And all of it, officials say, is aimed at better positioning the 15-year-old organization to boost the local bioscience industry."

Link to the article

GEN: 'Cities are trying to attract more talent and incentives to meet demands of the life science industry."

Quoting from the January 3rd article by Alex Philippidis:

"Denver anchors a growing Colorado biopharma effort that will see the state divert part of the corporate sales taxes collected from biotech and cleantech companies between 2013 and 2023 to help fund startups in those industries under a law enacted in May by Gov. John Hickenlooper (D). Bio startups also saw welcome news earlier this month when the Fitzsimmons Redevelopment Authority announced plans for an $8 million, 37,000 sq. ft. “accelerator” space within its Bioscience Park for companies past the incubator stage."

Link to GEN

Denver Post Breaking News: '$8 million facility to house growing biotech companies at Fitzsimons'

Quoting from this morning's posting by Mark Jaffe:

"The Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority today announced plans for an $8 million expansion of its Bioscience Park, which is designed to house start-up biotech businesses.

The authority said in a statement it will add a 37,000-square-foot 'accelerator' facility.

'The new accelerator space will be leased to companies in the modest growth stage,' said Denise Brown, the authority's interim executive director.

There are five companies from the biopark's incubator facility that are negotiating leases for the accelerator facility, said Vicki Jenings, an authority spokeswoman."

Link to the denverpost.com posting

Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority Announces Second Phase of Strategic Refocus With $8 Million Expansion to Bioscience Park Center

Aurora, CO - In furtherance of its renewed commitment to support the growth of early-stage Colorado bioscience companies, especially those developing technologies from Colorado's research institutions, Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority (FRA) is expanding its Bioscience Park Center building (BPC) with an $8 million, 37,000-square-foot accelerator facility, increasing the BPC in excess of 50 percent. The announcement is made by Denise Brown, FRA Interim Executive Director, who says, "The new accelerator space will be leased to companies in the modest growth stage. We have a number of companies in the BPC incubator ready to make this advancement in addition to interest from other companies, both in-state and out-of-state, as well."

The FRA Board of Directors has been working with FRA staff, FRA's real estate development partner Forest City Science + Technology Group, consultants and lenders for the past several months to finalize this expansion. Based on the team's recommendation, the three-story accelerator will be built to the west of the current building with a new parking lot located to the north of BPC. Ground broke in October and construction has been progressing since, with completion expected by June, as recently reported in the Aurora Sentinel, http://www.aurorasentinel.com/email_push/news/article_95c4538e-1792-11e1-a67e-001cc4c03286.html.

Link to the PR Web newswire

Link to the PitchEngine Social Media Release

Sentinel: 'FRA adds four new directors'

Quoting from the November 18 posting:

"AURORA The Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority announced four new members of its board of directors this week, additions officials say are part of a strategic refocusing of the 15-year-old organization.

'Our first tactic in refocus involves augmenting our board of directors with four of the area’s most well-known and successful leaders in the bioscience industry,' said Denise Brown, interim executive director of the FRA.

The new directors are: Donald M. Elliman, Jr., executive director of the Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology and member of the Children’s Hospital Colorado Board of Directors; William Freytag, PhD, former chairman and CEO of Myogen, Inc.; James C. T. Linfield, partner-in-charge of the Colorado office of Cooley LLP; David Perez, president and CEO of CaridianBCT, becoming TerumoBCT."

Link to the Aurora Sentinel

DBJ: 'Fitzsimons authority names 4 board members as it seeks more mature biotechs '

Quoting from the posting by Greg Avery:

"The Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority appointed four well-known bioscience industry leaders to its board Tuesday — including Don Elliman, Colorado’s former head of economic development — as the authority seeks to attract more mature biotech companies to its Aurora campus...

'We really got the industry “A list' — or at least a lot of it,” said Denise Brown, interim director of the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority (FRA)...

'What we’re not seeing is relocating to the site by more mature companies,' she said. “The board is doubling down and looking into what’s preventing it.”

Vacancies and favorable rent across the metro area — and commercial real estate conditions around the country — make it hard for the FRA to attract larger biotechs. They’d likely have to build their own building because developers can’t finance a speculative building in the current economy, Brown said.

Venture capital investment has slowed in the medical biotech industry as a whole, and larger pharmaceutical companies have been quick to acquire growing mid-sized companies.

But, even with those factors limiting the number of companies the FRA can attract, it expects to do better it has, and adding the industry veterans on its board should help, Brown said."

Link to the Denver Business Journal