Area Development
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center began construction on a $45 million expansion project that will include a 79,000 square foot, three-story, addition to the Center’s research facility in St. Louis, Missouri. The expansion, which will increase its laboratory space, is expected to create at least 100 research new jobs.

Governor Jay Nixon said, “The Danforth Plant Science Center has long been a strong anchor of life science innovation in Missouri and its $45 million expansion will build on this success and encourage more companies to create high-tech and high-paying jobs right here in the Show-Me State.”

Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research aims to feed the hungry and improve human health, preserve and renew the environment and position the St. Louis region as a world center for plant science. The Center’s work is funded through competitive grants and contract revenue from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates and Howard G. Buffett Foundations.

To assist Donald Danforth Plant Science Center with its expansion, the Missouri Department of Economic Development has offered a strategic economic incentive package that the organization can receive if it meets strict job creation and investment criteria. The St. Louis Economic Partnership also partnered with Donald Danforth Plant Science Center to make its expansion possible.