Medical Education and Research Institute purchases adjacent property to create more space for expanded research areas - Memphis Business Journal:

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The building at 1831 Madisonn has been vacant for nearlyeight years. MERI is now preparin the old facility for employee parking andfor Long-term plans for the buildinbg and its lot have not been But space needs at the 44 Monroe building are evident and “we’rs at kind of a tilt internally right now.” “We can’t fit one more thinbg in here,” says MERI executive director Elizabeth “We want to remainn a state-of-the-art training facility so that may mean we place some of our stafff into the (Madison) building or a new building.
” Ostric and her stafrf will decide whether or not to build a new facility on the site this summerf and present their decisions to the MERI board this Nothing new is expected on the site anytime soon. In the near term, however, moving administrativee functions to the Madison building would allosw the research facility to dedicate more of its squaree footage to laboratory andmeeting space. “Thisw gives us options for growth as there are other thingss out there we are looking at to supporf themedical community,” says Diana Kelly, MERI’as manager of institutional development. “I we do that, we just have to creat more space.
” MERI officials just wrapped upa year-lonh expansion project that brought 2,000 additional square feet for morgue and storage space. The facility’ss auditorium was expanded from 60 seatsto 85. A diningf facility was converted to lab space so MERI can now conductt two large classes ata Also, the second-floor lab has been outfittex with up-to-date audio/visual equipment that allows trainee s and researchers to watch medical procedures from around the director Beth Flanagan says MERI is an amazinhg asset to Memphis “thatf no one knows about.
” While practicing surgical procedured and techniques on frozen cadavers may not be glamorous, Flanagan says MERI’sw economic impact is unmistakable. The dozens of executive-level doctorx and professionals the facilityy brings in weekly translates to hotekl stays and mealsat Memphis’ finetr establishments, she says. “Also, if we’re going to stay competitivde (in the life science industry) and do the research and development piece, we have to have these guys,” she “If you only think about and , you’vse got to have (MERI).’ Ostric says MERI’s growth is two years ahead of a levek predicted in an economic impact studh threeyears ago.
The study projected MERI’s impact to be $34 million by now, althoug Ostric says it is closerto $41 million. In five she says, it is expectec to account for anannuall $54 million economic impact to the Memphis economy. But MERI has not been immun e to the global The organization has expandedits $10 million capital campaign that began in 2007 by anotherf year. “We realize a lot of our donorz are cutting back right now or extending their time frames on says Kelly. “So the capitapl is certainly a little slowerright now.” Also, demand for education serviced has not waned, but it has not grown as quicklty as predicted, Ostric says. MERI broughty in $7.
4 million in according to its most recently filedtax documents.