State Loan and Investment Board Approves Six BRC Projects, Including $20 Million for Project Jupiter

Cheyenne, Wyo – The Wyoming Business Council (WBC) presented six Business Ready Community (BRC) grant and loan requests to the State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) at their meeting on Feb. 2. The SLIB approved all of these projects as listed below, including a $20 million grant to the City of Laramie for Project Jupiter.

BRC Projects Presented:

Town of Bar Nunn – Community Center/Town Hall: $500,000 Community Project grant request
- Funds will be used to construct a community center that would provide a flexible gathering space with a kitchen for community events, various youth programs, and a space for recreation. The recreation portion of the building would include a large gymnasium, walking track and viewing area, and a weight/cardio room.
- SLIB approved funding as requested.
Meeteetse Joint Powers Board – Recreation District Community Center: $750,000 Community Project grant request
- Funds will be used to construct a 6,600-square-foot community center that would include a fitness area, multicourt, rehab/therapy area, recreational area, and flexible gathering space that can be configured in multiple ways.
- SLIB approved funding as requested.
Town of Lyman – Elevated Living Assisted Living Facility: $1.5 million Business Committed grant and $1.5 million Business Committed loan request
- Funds will be used to construct a 16,000-square-foot assisted living facility that would include 22 apartments, a complete kitchen, and a dining area.
- SLIB approved funding as requested.
Town of Glenrock – McGinley Manufacturing Expansion: $2,997,294 Business Committed grant request
- Funds will be used to construct an 8,400-square-foot facility, as well as machinery equipment, for the expansion of McGinley Manufacturing. The purpose of the grant request is to expand McGinley Manufacturing to include the aerospace and defense market.
- SLIB approved the WBC Board recommendation to fund 90% of the request ($1,370,733) with escalating revenue recapture based on job creation performance metrics.
City of Cody – Wyoming Legacy Meats Processing Expansion: $1 million Business Committed grant and $926,288 Business Committed loan request
- Funds will be used to construct a 16,000-square-foot facility for the expansion of Wyoming Legacy Meats. This facility would be located on a 7.6-acre parcel owned by Forward Cody and would enable the company to increase its processing from 50 head a week to 100 head a day.
- SLIB approved funding as requested.
City of Laramie – Project Jupiter: $20 million Business Committed grant request
- Funds will be used to construct an approximately 60,000-square-foot research and development facility for “Project Jupiter”. The facility would be built on 16.35 acres in the Cirrus Sky Technology Park, which is owned by the Laramie Chamber Business Alliance (LCBA).
- SLIB approved funding as requested.

Project Jupiter

Confirmed today as Plenty Unlimited, Inc., this project has its origins in Laramie, Wyo. Chief Science Officer Dr. Nate Storey co-founded the original company, Bright Agrotech, as a University of Wyoming graduate student in 2010 and established an innovation center in Laramie. This eventually led Storey and a group of entrepreneurs to found the startup Plenty in 2014, which later bought Bright Agrotech.

Today’s historic economic development investment by the State of Wyoming supports the development of the world’s largest and most advanced vertical farming research center in Laramie. The project also will support the retention and creation of nearly 200 high-paying jobs in the community.

“We couldn’t be more excited about this tremendous opportunity to retain and leverage a business that literally sowed its roots in our state,” said Josh Dorrell, Wyoming Business Council CEO. “We are proud to support the City of Laramie and Plenty in this monumental project to bring and retain high-quality jobs to our state. Plenty’s expansion project will support Wyoming’s economic growth while establishing us worldwide as the center for the vertical farming industry.”