Finding a Fit For ARI

While New Port Richey officials are willing to work with Advanced Research Institute, the company may still face obstacles in creating a home for itself on Congress Avenue.

ARI, which performs clinical drug trials, recently moved into a building at 6716 Congress Ave. Since changing its address from Trinity to New Port Richey, the company has been embroiled in a controversey surrounding the property's current zoning.

City leaders agreed Tuesday to . One challenge still remains: ARI leases the Congress Ave. address.

The building is owned by Juvenile Services Program, which . The building’s owner has refused to sign off on a rezoning, but told the city recently she would if ARI gives her a nonrefundable deposit to buy the property.  

Susan Randall, chief executive officer for ARI, said the property at 6716 Congress Ave. was selected after a two-year search. ARI has a 13-month lease.

ARI is working “very diligently" to buy the building, said company attorney Barbara Wilhite.

The company recently started expanding into Phase I clinical drug trials and was looking for someplace patients could stay overnight, Randall said.

According to the National Institute of Health in Phase I trials, “researchers test an experimental drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.”

Randall said most Phase I trials call for patients to stay overnight for observation and blood draws. The offic medical

“After a long search, (ARI) found the perfect building in your city, which is a win," Wilhite said. "Hillsborough County wanted them. Pasco County wanted them.

“We did not know that there is a zoning issue,” when she signed a lease in January to occupy the building, Randall said.

She said she thought her business fit the residential zoning and that "due diligence was done."

The lease was signed under the belief A'ri fit the zoning was in place. Contracts were agreed upon with pharmaceutical companies, Wilhite said. Randall's reputation was on the line if it did not start trials, she said.

“This is not a business that does not want to comply. They want to be in your city,” she said. “We just don’t have a solution.”

City staff got the greenlight to look into creating a new zoning designation that would fit ARI, but the process is expected to takre months.