Is it my imagination or does the Elk Run development project in Pine Island, Minnesota, seem a little… what’s the word I’m looking for?… oh, yeah… cursed? Don’t believe me? Well, let’s examine events from the past 12 months or so.

Steve Burrill may have trouble keeping quiet about the proposed $1 billion fund to back the Elk Run BioBusiness Park, but at least one Burrill-related fund in Minnesota has largely remained silent on its plans. Coordinate Capital LLC has been trying to raise a $25 million local fund to invest in biomass, energy and life science startups. Ten months later, CEO and managing partner Andrew Pulkrabek has stuck to its guns — by not saying anything. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Pop quiz time: when did Steven Burrill say he hopes to complete a $1 billion deal to finance the Elk Run BioBusiness Park in Pine Island, Minnesota? A. End of September B. End of the year C. Neither of the above

Fairly or not, Steve Burrill’s reputation in Minnesota will rest a great deal on whether he can deliver the $1 billion investment fund to back the Elk Run BioBusiness Park in Pine Island. He says he’s close. But fund or no fund, Burrill said Minnesota already has benefited from his interest and his checkbook.

The man responsible for finding cash to support the Elk Run BioBusiness Park says he’s in final negotiations with a foreign investor for the long-promised $1 billion investment fund. In an interview with MedCity News, Steven Burrill says he is working out the details of a limited partnership agreement with a sovereign wealth fund. He hopes to close the deal by the end of the month.

Steve Burrill is searching for money, this time among rich vacation-goers in northern Wisconsin. The San Francisco-based biotech investor who is trying to create a $250 million investment fund to back the Elk Run BioBusiness Park in Pine Island, Minnesota, also is forming a new angel investment group in the Badger State.Burrill is joining forces with former Wisconsin commerce secretary Dick Leinenkugel to target wealthy individuals and families inhabiting vacation homes in the well-to-do resort area of Vilas County in northern Wisconsin.

Steve Burrill may have encountered some difficulty raising local money for a planned $1 billion fund to back the Elk Run BioBusiness Center in Pine Island, Minn.But that hasn’t stopped the famed San Francisco-based investor from seeking other opportunities around the world.Burrill told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday that he will partner with Austral Capital Partners [...]

Backers of the Elk Run BioBusiness Park in Pine Island, Minnesota have hired the Minneapolis office of CB Richard Ellis to recruit tenants for the 200 acre property.CB Richard Ellis, the nation’s largest commercial firm, recently established a LifeScience team based in Minneapolis to focus on biotechnology, pharma, health care, and medical device industries.The team, [...]

Not to sound paranoid … but …Just when you think Minnesota has turned the corner in stimulating high-tech innovation, the nagging pest otherwise known as the budget has once again reared its ugly head. And it’s not pretty.Just weeks after Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed a bill that established the Minnesota’s first angel tax credits, the [...]

To BIO or not to BIO? That’s the question confronting Minnesota as it ponders its economic future.In some ways, the answer is obvious. The state boasts a lot of expertise and money in medical technology. Lawmakers have already earmarked millions of dollars to build a “Biomedical Discovery District” in Minneapolis and an “Elk Run BioBusiness [...]