Evergreen Bioscience Innovation Cluster (Evergreen Bio) has been awarded a $200,000 grant through the Evergreen Manufacturing Growth Grant program by the Washington State Department of Commerce.

The grant supports Washington state’s Building Economic Strength Through Manufacturing (BEST) Act, which aims to add 300,000 new manufacturing jobs over the next 10 years.

Using grant funds, Evergreen Bio will conduct a building requirements study and hire an architecture firm for site selection recommendations and to develop preliminary designs for an Evergreen Bioscience Innovation Building (BIB). The final deliverable will be a design for a 55,000 to 90,000-sq.-ft. building, projected to be a home for contract bioscience R&D and manufacturing companies, increase collaboration between industry and academic researchers, provide a space for bioscience workforce training, and ultimately create up to 384 bioscience manufacturing jobs.

“The Evergreen Bioscience Innovation Building will provide startups, capital, manufacturing, research institutions, and professional service providers across Washington a home to collaborate and help to ensure Washington state remains a leader in new bioscience technology innovations,” said Andy Johnston, board member of Evergreen Bioscience Innovation Cluster (EBIC).

Johnston leads Evergreen Bio’s Innovation Hub Team, a framework for focusing on one of its core aims, which is to make Washington state and the Mountain Northwest a hub for advanced pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing.