Biotech News - Phoenix Biomedical Campus Captures Economic Award

Phoenix Biomedical Campus Captures Economic Award

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The Phoenix Biomedical Campus received an “Economic Engines of Arizona Award” by Arizona Business Magazine on Wednesday, Oct. 4.

The award honors the top people, places, products and services that have made significant contributions to Arizona’s economy. The Phoenix Biomedical Campus was chosen to receive one of the Economic Engines of Arizona Awards in the “Places” category. In total, 20 awards were presented to the very best of Arizona’s driving economic engines. The Phoenix Biomedical Campus was recognized as an economic development project that demonstrates local, regional and statewide collaboration.

In 2001, the city of Phoenix established the 28-acre urban biomedical campus as one of several downtown revitalization projects. The campus includes the headquarters of the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGEN), International Genomics Consortium (IGC), National Institute Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), St. JosephÂ’s Hospital and Barrow Neurological Institute, the Phoenix operations of the University of Arizona College of Medicine and the Arizona Biomedical Collaborative.

The campus is planned to accommodate up to two million square feet of biomedical research, academic and clinical facilities. The campus has attracted adjacent private sector investment, which includes Ribomed Technologies and the Phoenix Biotechnology Accelerator.

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Historic Phoenix Union High School Re-Opens as State-of-the-Art
Biomedical Campus

The city of Phoenix in collaboration with the University of Arizona
College of Medicine, the state of Arizona and Arizona State
University today opened the new Phoenix Biomedical Campus.

"This is the largest public historic rehabilitation project to be
undertaken within the city of Phoenix and will provide economic
benefits not only to Phoenix, but the entire state of Arizona in
terms of overall economic impact and added jobs," said Mayor Phil
Gordon. "The three historic Phoenix Union High School buildings are
beautiful beyond words, and so beautifully define the new U of A
College of Medicine in downtown Phoenix."

The $27 million rehabilitation project includes three historic
buildings that house a variety of UA College of Medicine academic
and administrative functions. In 2001, the city of Phoenix
established the 28-acre urban biomedical campus as one of several
downtown revitalization projects. The campus includes the
headquarters of the Translational Genomics Research Institute
(TGEN), International Genomics Consortium (IGC), National Institute
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), St. Joseph's
Hospital and Barrow Neurological Institute, the Phoenix operations
of the University of Arizona College of Medicine and the Arizona
Biomedical Collaborative.

The historic campus – including two 1911 classroom buildings and a
1929 auditorium - was rehabilitated and returned to its historic
character through a reuse project proposed by the University of
Arizona Medical School.

The project restored key interior features and exterior facades, and
restored historic site features such as the flagpole, the World War
I memorial sundial and auditorium clock. The project also re-
introduced a modern landscape that is reminiscent of the historic
landscape, complete with a horseshoe pedestrian drive flanking the
auditorium. A new addition, housing a restroom and elevator core, is
located on the rear of the two classroom buildings.

Phoenix Union High School was the first established high school in
Phoenix and was the only high school in the city from 1898 to 1939.
Located in a prime residential area, adjacent to two major city
streets (Van Buren and Seventh streets), the high school served as
the center of Phoenix cultural, civic and family life during the
first half of the 20th century and remains a prominent feature of
the downtown area.

The historic school campus is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places and is a Phoenix historic landmark. The historic
school campus is owned by the city of Phoenix, with the Arizona
Board of Regents leasing the property for the medical school use and
taking responsibility for the rehabilitation project.

According to a recent Tripp Umbach study, the Phoenix Biomedical
Campus is anticipated to generate $77.1 million in overall economic
impact with TGEN, ASU and UA programs in operation. By 2025, the
Phoenix Biomedical Campus is expected to rank among Arizona's
leading economic engines, generating $1.1 to $2.1 billion in annual
economic impact for the state of Arizona.

Fact Sheet

The Phoenix Union High School Historic District was listed in the
National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and in the Phoenix
Historic Property Register in 1986. In 2002, the City Council
upgraded the designation to Historic Landmark status. The three
surviving buildings (from east to west, the Science Building,
Auditorium and Domestic Arts and Sciences building) on the PUHS
campus are outstanding examples of the Neoclassical Revival Style
with a Beaux Arts influence.
Residents of Phoenix voted to establish the Phoenix High School in
1895. The high school used a room in the old Central School Building
at 200 N. Central Ave. where Hotel San Carlos is now located. There
were 90 students in the class of 1895-96.
1898, students began attending classes in the home built for
Territorial Secretary of State Clark Churchill. The "Â… new high
school took advantage of the existing Churchill residence and the
[Churchill Addition] subdivision's potential for residential growth
as well as the access provided by E. Van Buren Street on of the
city's main traffic arteries."1 "The property, Â… purchased by the
Board for $15,000, was the cornerstone for what would become one of
the largest and most highly regarded schools west of the Mississippi
River."2 An annex was added in 1899, for an additional $15,000, but
the student population quickly outgrew that as well.
1911, the three remaining buildings, designed by architect Norman
Marsh, were constructed based on a new "campus plan" concept where
students attended classes in different buildings depending upon the
nature of the course.
1929, a portion of the auditorium was demolished so that it could be
enlarged to accommodate the growing population of the school and the
city. Only the southernmost portion of the building remained
standing, but it collapsed in a windstorm. The auditorium was
reconstructed, using the original cornerstone, and was used for
school and community activities.
The Victorian-era Churchill Home with Second Empire features was
demolished in 1949 to make way for a cafeteria and a new wing for
the Domestic Arts Building (Building One). In later years, Van Buren
Street was widened, and the windows on three buildings were bricked
up and substantially reduced in size.
Classes at Phoenix Union High School ended in 1984 and the buildings
were used for office space, theater space and eventually sat vacant
for some time. In 2003, with the three buildings facing demolition,
the city of Phoenix purchased the site from the developer and began
formulating plans for the biomedical research park.
The rehabilitation project undertaken to prepare the site for use as
the University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix campus was
extensive. The brick panels that had reduced the window openings
were removed and new true divided light wood windows were installed
in all three buildings to match the historic windows. Several
damaged plaster capitals on the Domestic Arts and Sciences building
were repaired or replaced. The west entrance on the Science building
was rebuilt and the coffered plaster ceilings in the auditorium were
repaired. Another important element of the rehabilitation was the
restoration of the landscaping, including the horseshoe drive that
encircled the auditorium and the re-installation of the World War I
memorial honoring Frank Luke. City of Phoenix Historic Preservation
Bond funds were utilized to purchase the buildings ($3 million from
the 2001 Bond) and for the rehabilitation (approximately $1.2
million from the 2006 Bond).
The 85,000-square-foot, four-story building is the first building
shared by the University of Arizona and Arizona State University.
The Phoenix Biomedical Campus is anticipated to generate $77.1
million in overall economic impact with TGEN, the ASU Bioinformatics
Program and the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix
program.
By 2025, the Phoenix Biomedical Campus could rank among Arizona's
leading economic engines, generating $1.1 to $21 billion in annual
economic impact for the state of Arizona.
Employing different scenarios and assumptions, it is projected that
the Phoenix Biomedical Campus at build-out could provide stable
employment for 14,000 to 24,000 Arizonans.
By 2025 the campus has the potential to generate $460 to 110.2
million annually in government revenue, providing the state of
Arizona $2 to $4 in annual government revenue for every $1 invested.
1 "Phoenix Union High School Historic District National Register of
Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form." Janus Associates, Inc.
April 1982. 7-2.

2 Duchemin, Michael. "Look to `the Source:' PUHS Laid Education
Cornerstone for Early Phoenix. Arizona History Magazine. Tucson:
Arizona Historical Society, 4(5), Sept/Oct 1987, 5.