Shire deal might create 650 jobs
Town Meeting next month will consider allowing international biopharmaceutical giant Shire HGT to expand its local facilities, a move officials believe will bolster sagging municipal revenue.
In addition to boosting property taxes, the proposed deal could bring hundreds of new highly paid employees and a $600,000 bonus to the town from Shire HGT, a division of
"It's an excellent opportunity," said Jeanne Krieger, chairwoman of the selectmen, after the panel voted last week to have a Special Town Meeting on Oct. 10 consider a 20-year Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, agreement with Shire.
But even if Town Meeting approves the proposal, which local officials said will not be finalized for about a week, there are still hurdles.
Shire spokesman Matthew Cabrey said the company is "not yet committed" to the plan. The state must "put together a separate package of tax incentives, job training, and other tools that would convince Shire that, yes, this is the best move for the organization and, frankly, a good move forward for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."
Selectmen are scheduled to hold an informational meeting Oct. 1 about the warrant article, which will specify the amount of the proposed tax break. The TIF law requires the break to amount to more than 5 percent of all value added to the property above the current assessment. The Shire-related property is now assessed at $892,000, according to Rob Addelson, the town comptroller.
Cabrey said Shire, which has a facility at 125 Spring St., recently signed a long-term lease for an adjacent property at 300 Patriot Place, in Lexington Technology Park. If local and state tax incentives come through, the company plans to spend $250 million in buildings and $144 million in capital improvements to build 552,000 square feet of space for manufacturing, research, and development, and administrative support on Patriot Way, with an opening projected for 2011, he said.
The "majority" of 650 new jobs the company plans to create would be located in Lexington, he said, with those employees receiving an average annual salary of $100,000.
Cabrey said Shire, which employs 600 in a manufacturing facility in Cambridge and another 700 worldwide, hopes to break ground in Lexington by January.
That depends, however, on negotiating a favorable deal with the state, Cabrey said. While the state already can offer some tax breaks, the company is waiting for lawmakers to pass a bill offering more business advantages to the life-sciences industry, he said.
The bill gained attention this summer when the Globe revealed that a former Patrick administration official, Robert Coughlin, met with biotechnology executives to develop lucrative tax breaks for the industry at the same time he was entering into discussions with a biotechnology trade group to become its next president.
A Shire executive reportedly was among those who attended one of the meetings with Coughlin, a former economic undersecretary, before the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council hired him on Aug. 11. During the meeting in his Beacon Hill office, Coughlin reportedly invited the executives to submit draft language that could be included in legislation for the industry's tax credits.
Local officials said this week that Coughlin's action, which reportedly led to a state Ethics Commission investigation, did not stall their consideration of the TIF, and Cabrey agreed.
"That has not influenced the process from our perspective at all," Cabrey said.
State Representative Jay Kaufman, a Democrat who represents Lexington and parts of other local communities, said the bill is "a top priority for the governor, as it is for me. Both he and I are very optimistic about its chances."
Kaufman said he could not predict how soon the bill will get the nod. He also said Governor Deval Patrick has "made it abundantly clear that Shire is at the top of the list" of companies to receive the tax breaks "when that bill passes."
Shire makes the drug Elaprase, used for Hunter's syndrome, a rare genetic disorder found only in boys that causes dwarfism; enlarged head, forehead, and brow; respiratory and cardiac problems; and other serious symptoms that can lead to premature death.
Another of the company's drugs, Replagal, is not yet approved for use by the federal Food and Drug Administration for Fabry disease, a rare genetic disorder causing similar problems.
Connie Paige can be reached at cpaige@globe.com. 