Biomedical innovation center coming to El Paso in 2016

El Paso City Council approved the sale of 13 acres of land, meaning construction can begin on the Cardwell Collaborative.

Another step forward for the medical industry has arrived to the Sun City. Along with new jobs, the Medical Center of Americas Foundation hopes the biomedical center creates new companies in healthcare space.

“The MCA campus is developing in a blighted part of town and we want to see that grow into one of our most prized assets,” MCA Foundation President Emma Schwartz told council members Tuesday.

Demolition of existing buildings on Colfax Street and Gateway Boulevard East will begin by the end of the year, making way for a new building, the Cardwell Collaborative. The building will be a place where new companies can move in.

“Aimed at creating start-up companies in the biomedical space,” Schwartz said. “Whether they’re apps, mobile devices, medical devices up to pharmaceutical devices.”

With a price tag of $29 million, the project is supported by city impact funds for the purpose of advancing the already biomedical cluster nearby, including the Texas Tech Paul Foster School of Medicine and University Medical Center.

These 13 acres sold for $2 million. The groundbreaking of the 60,000 square foot biomedical institute is expected to happen at the beginning of next year.

City council members welcomed the idea of transforming the abandoned buildings and dirt lot into an economic driver that will provide high-paying jobs and improve access to quality healthcare for the region.

“The companies that we create will have devices and drugs and processes that help our community’s health care. Whether they are Hispanic, border or military health care needs,” Schwartz said.

RedSky, a subsidiary of the MCA Foundation, is already operating in El Paso to fill up the Cardwell Collaborative with businesses when it opens. That expected date is in May 2016.