Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 23, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 5 B R I E FS German biotech building $150M Boxborough site A German biologics company has chosen a Boxborough site for a $150-million virotherapy manufacturing center spanning 110,000 square feet in what the company says is a major expansion of its United States operations. Vibalogics, a contract development and manufacturing organization, was selected in May by Janssen Pharmaceutical Cos., a Johnson & Johnson company, as one of its manufacturing partners for its investigational coronavirus vaccine. e company couldn't be reached for comment, so it was unclear whether it would manufacture the coronavirus vaccine at the new facility, or if the Boxborough site would be used for other purposes. In its announcement, Vibalogics said it hopes to begin operations in the second half of 2021. Atlanta firm pays $15M for West Boylston facility A 147,000-square-foot warehouse in West Boylston has been bought by an Atlanta investment firm for $14.6 million. e sprawling facility at 180 Shrewsbury St. hosts Bunzl New England, a distributor to grocery and convenience stores and other retailers. e site was bought on Oct. 20 by a limited liability firm registered to the address of a Morgan Stanley real estate investment trust in Atlanta. It was sold by Wheelock Street Capital, an investment firm in Greenwich, Conn. Worcester revisiting Unum tax break Worcester city officials are weighing whether to keep a tax break in place for the Unum aer the insurance company said in July it would close its downtown office and instead have all 400 employees there work from home. Tennessee-based Unum has a 15-year tax break when the company moved into a new office building on the site of the old Galleria mall. e deal allowed the company to pay targeted tax payments instead of the commercial property rate, in exchange for retaining 600 jobs and investing $25 million in the city. e deal was decertified by the state government for failure to meet the job-creation goals, although the city kept the deal in place. Now, city officials are reassessing the deal, aer Unum said it would seek to sublease more of its space, of which 80,000 square feet is available. Seven Hills moving into former Reliant offices Worcester nonprofit Seven Hills Foundation has signed a lease to occupy an office at 135 Gold Star Blvd. to bring three of its affiliates — Family Services of Central Massachusetts, You Inc., and Children's Friend — under a single roof. e building has been vacant since Reliant Medical Group, a tenant since the late 1980s, le about two years ago. e building was bought in 2019 for nearly $2.6 million by the same entity that already owned the site's parking lot: K+L Worcester LLC, registered to Worcester businessman George Tonna. Guild of St. Agnes to open day care in Creative Hub Childcare nonprofit Guild of St. Agnes will run a daycare center as a future tenant of the Creative Hub Community Arts Center Worcester, powered by a $1-million grant from the Early Education and Out-of-School Time grant program. e Guild will create a new early learning program at Creative Hub, providing an additional 88 toddler and preschool slots. Creative Hub is a $14.4-million arts and creative complex being developed in an old Boys Club at 2 Ionic Ave. in Worcester. Clark closes campus earlier than planned Clark University in Worcester is moving courses online earlier than planned out of concern for the spread of coronavirus on campus. Clark has held classes on-campus during this fall but has planned to move courses online only from anksgiving break through the remainder of the semester. But with seven positive tests in mid-November — by far the most the school has had this fall — and 22 students placed in isolation out of precaution, President David Fithian and Provost Davis Baird announced classes would be canceled for three days, and then held online starting Nov. 19. Nichols College receives $2M anonymous gift Nichols College has received a $2-million gi to go toward scholarships for local students and a variety of academic initiatives. e gi is from a global financial services leader who wishes to remain anonymous. e funds will go to the endowment, with funds paying for a new business center and an endowed scholarship for students in southern Worcester County. Biden's tax policy is concerning F L AS H P O L L How do you anticipate a Biden presidency impacting your business? As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office in January, the country is readying itself for a significant political change. Among those anticipating a shift are business owners from virtually every industry, as the incoming leader promises to undo changes put in place by the Trump Administration, which includes tax changes and rolling back regulations and consumer protections. When polled online, the plurality of WBJ readers said their main concern with the new administration is changes to tax policy. T H E T I C K E R $50,000 Loan awarded to Sterling Academy of Gymnastics by the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp. for working capital for pandemic-related relief and recovery Source: NCMDC 16 Source: Fitchburg State University Positive coronavirus tests at Fitchburg State University this semester, before the school opted to transition to remote classes States joining Massachusetts as founding members of a new national group called the Cannabis Regulators Association, or CANNRA. 19 Source: Cannabis Control Commission Locations that Tree House Brewing Co. will have following two recently announced expansions into Cape Cod and Deerfield. 4 Source: Tree House Brewing Co. It won't impact my business at all. W It will have a positive impact. 37% 9% I am concerned about potential tax law changes. 46% 3% 5% Other I am concerned about potential consumer protection changes. "The clown is out, and the crooked cronies are coming back. Their pay-to- play system will favor special interest groups and large corporations to the detriment of small businesses. We can only hope for a divided Congress to slow things down. Of course, they will raise our taxes to keep their gravy train running. We need term limits at all levels." COMMENTS:

• Cover