With a huge assist from the Kansas Bioscience Authority, Lawrence has the opportunity to advance its chances of establishing a hub for bioscience business activity in the East Hills Business Park.

It was announced Thursday that the Kansas Bioscience Authority would contribute almost $3.5 million to developing an East Hills building while providing another $3.5 million that will be repaid over the next 10 years by Douglas County, the city of Lawrence and the Lawrence-Douglas County Biosciences Authority. To complete the team effort, Douglas County Development Inc., which runs the East Hills Business Park, has agreed to sell a building in the park for $1 million below cost and contribute another $500,000 to improving it.

Everyone involved in this project should be congratulated for the financial commitments they have made, but the Kansas Biosciences Authority clearly has been the leader in turning this idea into a reality.

The funding that has been raised will buy and develop a 67,376-square-foot building that was completed in 2002 in hopes of attracting a light manufacturing or warehousing operation to East Hills. Although the building had been used as a temporary warehouse for other East Hills businesses, it has never had a permanent occupant.

The investment announced Thursday will allow the building to be outfitted with specialized plumbing, electrical and ventilation systems that will accommodate high-tech scientific equipment. The hope is to use the equipped space to attract a bioscience firm to the site.

Although it hasn’t committed to the move, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, which now is located in western Lawrence, is just the type of company the investors hope will be drawn to the new space. Deciphera, a drug discovery and development company, moved to Lawrence from Boston in 2003. This week, the company announced it had raised $15 million in financing from private Kansas sources. The confidence of investors seems to provide a strong endorsement of Deciphera as a solid company that should be actively pursued to participate in the new East Hills project.

Lawrence should be grateful for the Kansas Bioscience Authority’s investment and confidence in our community. The project announced Thursday will give Lawrence an opportunity to be a major player in a biosciences effort that will include Kansas University and other research entities in the Kansas City area. Local officials now must make every effort to push this project forward and show the Bioscience Authority that it has placed its money and its confidence in the right Kansas community.