Shriners Children's to open $153M medical research facility in Atlanta
[July 03, 2025]
By JEFF AMY
ATLANTA (AP) — The nonprofit that operates Shriners Children's hospitals
across North America will locate a $153 million medical research
facility in Atlanta, the group announced Wednesday.
Shriners Children’s Research Institute intends to conduct research into
cell and gene therapies, other biotechnology therapies, robotics,
artificial intelligence, medical devices and the study of data.
Shriners Children's operates 17 hospitals in the United States and one
each in Mexico and Canada, plus clinics. The system is owned by Shriners
International, a Masonic order. It specializes in treating children with
orthopedic problems, burns, urology disorders and craniofacial
conditions including cleft lips and palates. While the organization
accepts insurance payments, it says that it treats patients regardless
of their ability to pay.
“This is a decision of the health care system to expand the role we play
in pediatric research,” said Mel Bower, a spokesperson for Shriners
Children's. He said the institute will be financed using the Shriners
Children's resources and should be operating within a year to 18 months.
The institute projects it will have 470 employees, many of them new
hires, and Georgia Tech said it will be the largest tenant at Science
Square. That is a mixed-use development that Georgia Tech is developing
along with the Trammell Crow Co.
Georgia Tech owns the land adjoining its campus near downtown Atlanta,
while the company built labs that opened last year. The development aims
to emulate Georgia Tech's success in joint developments with technology
companies in Atlanta's Midtown neighborhood. That tech sector has been a
major driver of growth in Atlanta in recent years, and officials are now
trying to bolster growth from biomedical research.
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 Leanne West, the chief engineer of
pediatric technology at Georgia Tech, said the university has
already conducted 25 projects with Shriners Children's. She said
both Georgia Tech and Emory University will lend research expertise
to the institute, and she hopes institute employees can work
alongside Georgia Tech researchers.
“The goal is to really help embed some of their researchers here
with Georgia Tech, to walk across campus, to work in the same labs,
to have that physical presence together,” West said. “I think we can
accomplish great things by doing that.”
The state and local governments are providing incentives to Shriners
Children’s, although it is not exactly clear how that would work
because nonprofits are generally exempt from income and property
taxes. In Georgia, nonprofit organizations do have to pay sales
taxes, which means the state could waive such taxes on equipment
purchases. Jessica Atwell, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department
of Economic Development, said the state won’t release documents
until they are finalized.
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