Pitt committee approves $120M in construction for biomanufacturing facility in Hazelwood

A University of Pittsburgh trustees’ committee voted Monday to approve the $120 million construction of the core and shell of a planned cell and gene therapy manufacturing facility in Hazelwood.

In a separate vote, the trustees’ Property and Facilities Committee authorized leasing space within the facility. Officials hope it will boost life-science research and grow the commercial gene and cell therapy biomanufacturing industry in Pittsburgh.

The 185,000-square-foot facility is to be built on the Hazelwood Green development site along the Monongahela River, said David DeJong, Pitt’s senior vice chancellor for business and operations.

About three-quarters of the building will be leased to partner ElevateBio as a commercial biomanufacturing facility, while the remainder of the building will be used for the university’s manufacturing institute, according to the resolution.

After the meeting, Pitt leaders hailed both votes.

“These exciting milestones advance the university’s vision to create a transformational life-science ecosystem on the Hazelwood Green site that will create jobs and save lives,” Pitt said in a statement.

Last August, the university announced a 30-year partnership to bring Massachusetts-based ElevateBio to Pitt’s BioForge Biomanufacturing Center. In December, trustees approved spending up to $10 million to buy land for the project.

The university said Monday that it hopes to complete the project by 2027. Officials have said they hope the facility will create more than 170 permanent, full-time jobs, along with 900 construction jobs and 360 off-site support jobs.

Officials said the proposed project, at this point, consists only of a two-story core and shell.

Pitt plans to seek separate approval for further design and construction work and for programming for Manufacturing Institute, officials said.

As for the lease, DeJong said it “will have a term of 10 years commencing upon substantial completion of the core and shell facility.”

There would be two 10-year renewal options, officials said. Under the lease agreement, Pitt will reimburse ElevateBio costs of up to $122 million for equipment and furnishings.