CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The highest beam was put in place at a topping off ceremony Monday for the Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology’s 350,000-square-foot facility at Fontaine Research Park.
Ground was broken for the project in December 2023, and work is expected to be completed by December 2027. The Mannings seeded the project with a $100-million gift.
“Today we are celebrating a step forward as we continue to build a thriving biotech ecosystem in central Virginia that will compete with the leading biotech centers globally, probably the best in class when we are done,” Manning said before the beam was placed.
“I am delighted to be one step closer to opening the Manning Institute’s state-of-the-art new facility and grateful to everyone who has worked so hard on this project,” said Paul G. Mahoney, the University’s interim president. “The Manning Institute has already accelerated research and discovery within the University and the Commonwealth. I am eager to see what our talented faculty, staff and research teams will accomplish in the Institute’s new home.”
Research Mark Esser, PhD, is the leader of the new institute after serving as Vice President for Vaccines and Immune Therapies at Astra Zeneca…