Genesee Community College is nearing the day when it will include a school of nursing.
After eight years of planning, securing funding and pre-development work, ground was broken yesterday on the Dr. Bruce A. Holm Upstate Med-Tech Center.
The new facility is being build across the road from GCC. It will house the new school of nursing as well as UMMC's Occupational and Physical Therapy program and new offices for the Genesee County Economic Development Center.
The initial complex will be 43,000 sq. ft.
Start-up med-tech companies will also be able to apply for space in a 7,000 sq. ft portion of the building intended to help new businesses get off the ground. The hope is that up-and-coming companies will launch in the med-tech center and then move into new buildings on the adjoining land as their businesses grow, keeping the companies and the jobs in Genesee County.
The center is named for former Batavia resident, Dr. Bruce A. Holm, a former Batavia resident and a SUNY Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Pharmacology and Toxicology. He is also the Executive Director of the NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics & Life Sciences and Senior Vice-Provost at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Holm previously held the positions of Senior Associate Dean of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and Senior Associate Vice President for Health Affairs at UB.
From a news release prior to the ground breaking:
“Dr. Holm has been a pioneer and leader in Life Sciences innovation and commercialization here in Western New York and we felt it was fitting to honor him for his vision, dedication and hard work,” said Steve Hyde, President and CEO of the GCEDC. “Life Sciences is a thriving industry in the region and now Genesee County is well positioned to participate in its growth and our economy will benefit from good paying jobs in a facility that has ties to GCC, the hospital and regional university centers.”
(WBTA contributed to this report)
