Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal • January 5, 2015 www.wbjournal.com A straZeneca announced last month that it will close its manufacturing plant in Westborough by the end of 2015. This means the town will lose its largest taxpayer, but it marked the final step in a wind-down of the facility that had previously employed more than 800 but had shrunk to just over 180 employees and contractors in recent years. What's the financial hit to Westborough? The biggest impact will be the loss of close to $2 million in taxes on the property and equipment inside the building, such as computer systems and manufac- turing machinery. While the AstraZeneca property is valued at $19.4 million, the personal property inside is valued at $83.3 million. That comes out to $360,000 in tax revenue from the building and $1,548,547 from the equipment. The revenue loss will shift more of the burden onto residents and other businesses starting in fiscal year 2017, according to Town Manager Jim Malloy, who explained that while it will be an adjustment "we will not cut services because of it." What's the town's plan? The focus of town officials is to get a new owner as soon as possible. AstraZeneca spokeswoman Alisha Martin said the company will sell the 420,000-square- foot building with a "particular interest in buyers that would conduct manufacturing operations." "We told (AstraZeneca) we would work with them with any company that is looking at the property to expedite permitting and talk about what incentives we could offer," Malloy said. What does it mean to Westborough's employment base? Some of the 180 employees and contractors will be phased out in March, while others will stay until the end of the year according to the company. Malloy estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 people are employed across the different companies in Westborough. "While we are sensitive to those employees (who remain at AstraZeneca), we have a number of employ- ers in town who employ more than 1,000 people," Malloy said. What does this mean for AstraZeneca? The processing of the asthma treatment Pulmicort Respules at the plant will be consolidated at the com- pany's facilities in Sweden and Australia to achieve "increased efficiencies in our global supply chain," according to Martin. The company will retain a pres- ence in the state with its research-and-development operations in Waltham and Cambridge. n MARLBOROUGH — The Solomon Pond Park in Marlborough has been sold for $34 million to Burlington- based Nordblom Co., according to the Massachusetts Registry of Deeds. The sale was recorded Dec. 18. The park, adjacent to the Solomon Pond shop- ping mall, was sold by BGI Holdings III LLC. The 163-acre site includes seven properties built in the 1980s ranging from 150 to 500 Donald J. Lynch Blvd. The site has nearly 500,000 square feet of office, flex, lab and research and development space, along with a fitness center and cafeteria. NORTHBOROUGH — United Bank will close branches in Northborough and Whitinsville as part of a restructur- ing that will save it approximately $3 million annually, the Connecticut-based bank said. United will close locations at 701 Church St., Whitinsville and 6 Church St., Northborough, but did not specify when, although it noted in a statement that the branches will not close before spring. Two other branches in Northampton and Broad Brook, Conn., will alco close. All positions at the branches will be eliminated. WORCESTER — The planned $76-mil- lion acquisition of World Energy Solutions by EnerNOC of Boston has passed its final milestone and is expect- ed to close this week. EnerNOC's pur- chase of World Energy was announced in November. World Energy was allowed to solicit alternative proposals from a third party through Dec. 29, but none were received, according to a statement from World Energy Solutions, clearing the way for the deal. WORCESTER — The Higgins Armory building has been sold to a New Hampshire developer with a track record of restoring historic properties, such as the Pawtucket Armory in Rhode Island. Following the closing of the museum in December 2013, the building went on the market while its collection of arms and armor was being transferred to the Worcester Art Museum. The 42,000-square foot building was sold Dec. 22 to developer Brian Thibeault for $850,000, after the Higgins board of trustees received sev- eral responses to a request for propos- als. The final decision took into account not only the price and speed of the sale, but also the proposed use and preserva- tion of the building, said James C. Donnelly Jr., who chairs the board. WORCESTER — UMass Memorial Health Care (UMMHC) posted a $29-million operating surplus for fiscal 2014, according to an audited report the Worcester-based health care system released. The surplus represents a turn- around from 2013, when UMMHC reported an operating loss of $55 mil- lion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2013. According to UMMHC, pay- ments increased in fiscal 2014 to $2.25 billion, up from more than $2 billion in fiscal 2013. The system's net profit totaled $60.8 million in fiscal 2014, including investment income. That's down from $72.9 million last year, as UMMHC spent $16.4 million to reduce its workforce. FITCHBURG — Micron Products of Fitchburg has signed an exclusive man- ufacturing agreement for New Era Orthopaedics' knee, hip and spine implant systems. Under the five-year agreement, Micron, a subsidiary of Arrhythmia Research Technology, will manufacture FDA-approved orthope- dic implants, with orders scheduled to begin being filled in the second half of 2015. New Era, based in Pennsylvania, specializes in primary joint replace- ment and spine implants. OXFORD — Fabrico Inc., which pro- vides components for land-based gas turbines, semiconductors, steam tur- bines and the aviation market, is being sold to a North Carolina company. Fabrico, which has additional facilities in Charlton, as well as Greenville, S.C., is being acquired by EnPro Industries of Charlotte, N.C., in a cash transac- tion. Terms were not disclosed. EnPro makes engineered industrial products. EnPro said Fabrico will become part of its Technetics Group, which provides sealing and other products to similar industries. ACTON — Video software manufac- turer SeaChange International will acquire a California-based company that helps broadcast news organiza- tions manage and analyze social media content, SeaChange announced. The deal to acquire Timeline Labs, of Santa Monica, Calif., is estimated at between $22 million and $25 million. SeaChange said it will pay $14 million in cash, $8 million in stock and up to $2.5 million in deferred performance-based consid- erations that would be paid in stock. MARLBOROUGH — The Brigham Business Park in Marlborough has been sold for $14.5 million, according to commercial real estate firm Avison Young. First Colony Development sold the park to an affiliate of Ivy Realty, a Greenwich, Conn.-based company. The park is made up of 169,230 square feet of office, research and develop- ment, industrial, warehouse distribu- tion and manufacturing space, accord- ing to Avison Young, which is head- quartered in Toronto, and brokered the deal representing First Colony REGIONAL BRIEFS >> Continued on next page Verbatim "We are not philan- thropists. We are Christians. Whatso- ever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me." Bishop Robert McManus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, on the reason the diocese hosts an annual Christmas dinner at the Cathedral of St. Paul Source: Telegram & Gazette, Dec. 26 >> "We know that when our students have more time to learn, they have a better chance of succeeding." Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, announcing that the city's public schools and teachers union negotiated a proposal that adds 40 minutes to the school day. Source: Boston.com, Dec. 26 >> "I think there's really a consensus that our criminal justice system is really broken in Massachu- setts. We have too many people in jail, many of them for nonviolent drug offenses." State Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, on making criminal justice reform a priority in the next legislative session Source: MetroWest Daily News, Dec. 27 >> BRIEFING: THE END FOR ASTRAZENECA PLANT CENTRALMASS In Review FOR MORE INFORMATION: Go to WBJournal.com for more links on this topic. AstraZeneca will cease operations at its Otis Street facility in Westborough by the end of the year. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y

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