Agricultural biotech firm Calyxt Inc. has been approved for a $477,000 grant from the Job Creation Fund for a new headquarters and research facility in Roseville.
Calyxt, which specializes in developing crops with healthier characteristics (such as wheat with reduced gluten and soybeans with less saturated fat) plans to build the 35,000 square-foot facility near Mount Ridge Road and County Road C2 W. The business, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paris- and New York-based Cellectis SA, expects to create over 60 new jobs over the next three years.
“Calyxt is creating high-paying Minnesota jobs in a cutting-edge industry. Their expansion is exactly what the Minnesota Job Creation Fund is designed to assist: good jobs in a growing sector,” said Lt. Governor Tina Smith. “This expansion in biotech will create a critical piece to building an economy that works for everyone, everywhere in Minnesota.”
The grant from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) is contingent on the company meeting hiring and investment commitments related to the expansion project.
“The new Calyxt headquarters is an exciting project that adds to the Job Creation Fund’s track record of encouraging job and investment growth in Minnesota,” said DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben. “The program has attracted nearly $600 million in outside investments in the two years since it was launched.”
Calyxt, which was founded in 2010, has 24 employees at its current operations in New Brighton. The company is moving to the Roseville site to accommodate growth and because it needs more space to establish outdoor research plots. A 6,000-square-foot greenhouse and 4.5 acres of test fields are planned for the new site.
The Job Creation Fund, which was first proposed by Gov. Mark Dayton in 2013, is a pay-for-performance program that provides funding to businesses after they meet certain criteria, including minimum requirements for job creation and private investments. Under the program, businesses must create at least 10 full-time jobs and invest at least $500,000 to be eligible for financial assistance.
Since the Job Creation Fund was launched in January 2014, DEED has awarded $28.6 million for 57 business expansion projects in Minnesota. Companies have committed to creating 3,694 full-time jobs and investing $596.2 million to expand.
DEED is the state’s principal economic development agency, promoting business recruitment, expansion and retention, workforce development, international trade and community development. For more details about the agency and our services, visit us at the DEED website (http://mn.gov/deed) or go to our Twitter account (http://twitter.com/mndeed).