Government & Politics

Joint Finance Committee approves funds for expansion of Versiti’s Blood Research Institute

By Ashley Smart

Jun 8, 2023 11:58 am

vbri-media-library-large-7x5 — Versiti's Blood Research Institute in Wauwatosa. Photo courtesy of Versiti.

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Last updated Aug 16, 2023 1:09 pm

Milwaukee-based Versiti, a nonprofit organization specializing in blood health solutions, is one step closer to receiving a $10 million state grant which would help it expand its Blood Research Institute in Wauwatosa. The Blood Research Institute hopes to complete a $63.5 million, 60,000-square-foot expansion, with remaining project costs being supported by Versiti’s own proceeds, fundraising

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Milwaukee-based Versiti, a nonprofit organization specializing in blood health solutions, is one step closer to receiving a $10 million state grant which would help it expand its Blood Research Institute in Wauwatosa. The Blood Research Institute hopes to complete a $63.5 million, 60,000-square-foot expansion, with remaining project costs being supported by Versiti’s own proceeds, fundraising efforts, and some borrowing. A $10 million state grant for the project was earmarked in Gov. Tony Evers’ 2023-25 budget and earlier this week, the state Legislature’s budget-writing Joint Finance Committee approved moving the proposal forward. Now, the grant needs approval from both houses of the Legislature and from Evers. “We are grateful to Governor Evers for including this project in his budget proposal and for the members of the Joint Finance Committee for choosing to invest in these life-saving endeavors,” said Chris Miskel, president and chief executive officer of Versiti. “Blood conditions, such as leukemia, lymphoma, thrombosis, sickle cell disease and hemophilia, have no geographic boundary. They impact every community in Wisconsin and people around the globe. This project will promote the discovery of life-saving therapies for a broad range of blood conditions.” [caption id="attachment_450612" align="alignleft" width="300"]

Chris Miskel[/caption] Over the next 30 years, Versiti projects the expansion project will have a total economic impact of $580 million and drive additional state tax revenue of $19 million for the state. A key component of the additional tax revenue will be the people who don’t live within the state but move to come take a job at Versiti. The expansion is expected to create 100 jobs, ranging from additional VBRI researchers to the construction workers that would build the addition. The nonprofit’s research has historically been focused on bleeding and clotting disorders. The expansion would allow Versiti to expand its research into the areas of blood cancer, immunobiology and stem cell work. Pending final approvals, Versiti could break ground on the expansion project in the next few months. “We are nearing capacity,” Miskel told BizTimes Milwaukee in April. “With the recruitment of a couple more (health care) investigators over the next couple of months, it would be the trigger for us to do the expansion, which we would envision happening over the next couple of years.”