By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER EAST SIDE — Weill Cornell Medical College broke ground Wednesday on a new medical research building that will double the size of its research facilities.
The $650 million center, located at East 69th Street between York Avenue and First Avenue, is expected to open in 2013.
"This new world-class research center will provide a critically important boost to our efforts to bring more bioscience jobs to our city," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a statement.
When finished, the 18-floor building will have 480,000 square feet dedicated to cancer, heart, pediatric, stem cell, diabetes and infectious diseases research, among other fields.
Up to 30 researchers are expected to join the school's faculty to develop medical treatments at the site.
Construction of the center is the main focus of the medical school's multi-year "Dicoveries that Make a Difference" campaign, which has raised $1.3 billion to fund interdisciplinary research.
Sanford I. Weill, a Cornell graduate and chairman of the board of overseers at the medical school, and his wife, Joan, pledged $250 million to the effort in 2007.
A donor, who wished to remain anonymous, also gave $100 million towards the project.
