Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/469117
www.wbjournal.com • Worcester Business Journal 59 25 YEARS: IN REVIEW Allmerica Financial of Worcester sells its life insurance unit to Goldman Sachs in August, resulting in the loss of 275 jobs in the city. A week after the sale, the compa- ny's focus on service faces a tough test when Hurricane Katrina hits Louisiana and floods New Orleans. But the compa- ny doesn't suffer a major hit, President and CEO Fred Eppinger said later in the year. In December, Allmerica changes its name to Hanover Insurance Group. BJ's Wholesale Club breaks ground in November for a 618,000-square- foot distribution center in Uxbridge to replace a smaller facility in Franklin. The new center will employ 128 people. Months after the Worcester Ice Cats packed up and moved to Illinois, the city lands a new American Hockey League franchise when the NHL's San Jose Sharks agree to move their AHL franchise to Worcester for the start of the 2006-2007 season. Westborough officials in March give the green light to a 56-acre multiuse development downtown at the site of the former Bay State Abrasives complex. Bay State Commons will include 50 condo- miniums and 210,000 square feet of com- mercial space. The Roche Bros. super- market chain agreed at the start to open a store on the site. In June, pharmaceutical manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb tells Massachusetts officials it will build a $1.1-billion manufacturing facility in Devens to make its rheumatoid arthritis drug Orencia. The target date to launch operations is 2009, with 350 workers. Bristol-Myers Squibb plans to add anoth- er 200 jobs within five years. After only nine months, Allegiant Air stops flying from Worcester Regional Airport in September, becoming the 13th commercial passenger carrier to break ties with the struggling facility. An Allegiant spokesperson called Worcester the airline's "worst-performing city." Craig Mello, a biologist and professor at University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, is award- ed The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with colleague Andrew Fine of Stanford University, for their discoveries related to RNA interference. Hudson Savings Bank and Westborough Bank agree in November to merge, subject to regulatory approval. The deal creates a regional bank with $955 mil- lion in assets and nine offices. The com- bined entity will eventually be renamed Avidia Bank. Framingham-based discount retailer TJX Cos. acknowledges a data breach in January that may have exposed more than 100 million credit cards to possible fraud. By the end of the year, the company will have reached settlements with customers, credit companies and New England banks. The company also picks a new CEO, Carol Meyrowitz, who replaces interim CEO Bernard Cammarata. Worcester Polytechnic Institute opens its Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at the 11-acre Gateway Park, a new hub for biomedical and technical research rising out of a former industrial area that was transformed with the help of a federal "brownfields" grant the city received in 1999. Webster-based Commerce Insurance Group agrees to be acquired by Spain's largest insurer, Mapfre SA, for $2.21 bil- lion in cash. Commerce officials say no job losses are expected once the deal clos- es in 2008. 2006 Auburn IndustrIAl development CorporAtIon www.aidc.com FIRST FLOOR OF MODERN, TWO-STORY BUILDING Conveniently Located Near Rte. 146, I-290, I-190, I-395, I-495 and the Mass. Turnpike BRIGhT, AIRY SpACE /hIGh-SpEED DATA INFRASTRUCTURE / RENOvATED LOBBY / AMpLE pARkING / pRIvATE OFFICES AND CONFERENCE ROOM / NEAR ShOppING AND RESTAURANTS / A must see! SChEDULE A SITE vISIT TODAY. 978.365.4585 or management@aidc.com 4 8 S W O R D S T R E E T , A U B U R N , M A 5,000 – 10,000 SQ. FT. pRIME OFFICE SpACE AvAILABLE NOW! 2007 WPI students work with state-of-the-art equipment. >> Continued on Page 60