Why Are These Companies Investing Billions in Palm Beach?

Think "Palm Beach" and what comes to mind?

Stately mansions facing the Atlantic. White-gloved ladies in Rolls-Royce sedans. Quiet, classy restaurants and ornate golf resorts.

But there's another side to Palm Beach that's taking center stage. Palm Beach County is quickly turning into a biotech hot spot, and the local economy is reaping the benefits.

Earlier this year, Forbes magazine identified Palm Beach County as a new national leader in biosciences.

Driving this expansion has been The Scripps Research Institute and the Max Planck Institute, both of which are setting up research centers right next to each other in Jupiter, Palm Beach County’s northernmost city.

Scripps, based in La Jolla, California, is the world's largest private, nonprofit biomedical research organization. In 2006, experts polled by the London Times ranked Planck No. 1 in the world as a non-university science research institution.

Scripps put Palm Beach County on the biotech map in 2003, when then-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and county officials enticed the science researcher with $510 million in aid.

Then, in 2005, Bush and Scripps bigwigs began pushing Planck to come here. Planck will end up receiving $190 million in government assistance.

Scripps plans to move out of its current temporary facility and into permanent digs in October, and Planck expects to complete construction of its final buildings by the end of 2011.

Scripps alone will bring in thousands of jobs over the next several years. Max Planck will bring in more than 1,800 high paying jobs. Together, they promise billions in economic growth.

The two science heavy hitters have inspired others to follow in their wake.

BioCatalyst International, a big-time biotech venture capital firm led by Genzyme co-founder Sheridan Snyder, opened a new office in West Palm Beach last year. Undoubtedly, it will seek to piggyback on the research of Scripps and Planck.

Beyond direct economic benefits, the county has convinced the companies to direct a percentage of their income to local education.

As for Palm Beach County's two biggest industries, agriculture and tourism, they continue to churn along.

On the tourism front, for example, the luxury hotels on Palm Beach island — The Breakers, Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton — remain as busy as ever. The swanky Boca Raton Resort and PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens also continue to draw plenty of vacationers and business conferences.

While most of the country is economically unstable, Palm Beach County is running on all cylinders. The bioscience industry, tourism, agriculture and the migration of Baby Boomers will continue to make this area a great place to live and a sound investment opportunity for savvy investors.

All of that bodes well for the county's commercial real estate industry. For example, CityPlace Tower, a $110 million, 18-story office building, recently opened in downtown West Palm Beach. That was the first Class A office property built in the city since 1989.