Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal • November 23, 2015 www.wbjournal.com A s Worcester strives to grow its business base with new hotels, an expanding medical indus- try and courting startups, the city continues to rely upon long-time businesses, many of which started here and continue to make the region their home. While these businesses are not the ones that always grab the headlines, they are the ones that the city relies upon year-in and year-out for its commercial and indus- trial base. One such business is Imperial Distributors of Worcester, which was started in the city in 1939 and recently announced that it will be moving to a new built- to-suit building at a new development off of Route 146. The City Remaining in Worcester was a no-brainer for Imperial CEO Michael Sleeper, who was born, raised and edu- cated in Worcester. In addition to being an ideal location to do business out of, Worcester and the surrounding areas have become home for generations of employees, Sleeper said. "I love Worcester I am rooted in Worcester. Both of my parents have lived in Worcester and the business was started in Worcester… It is home," he said. The city is also pushing to keep businesses while also seeking new business, Sleeper said, citing the ease with which business owners can work with city officials and the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. The space The 325,000-square-foot facility will house distribu- tion space, administrative offices and the company's innovation center. The building will consolidate 340 of the company's 750 jobs under one roof. Employees are currently split between the Auburn Industrial Park and an office in Worcester at 60 Webster Place, said Sleeper. In addition to the physical building, the location is also key to Sleeper's business. The company distributes to more than 3,500 locations, shipping more than 1.3 million units each week throughout 27 states. "Central Massachusetts is just a great place to be because of the roads networks… the access to roads is excellent," he said. Built-to-suit Having a building created to the company's needs will pay dividends, Sleeper said. While the company is not building the facility, which is being handled by developer GFI Partners, having a space with huge ceilings created specifically to the company's needs will be invaluable. The facility will be leased from GFI Partners and is expected to open in January of 2017. Financial terms of the long-term lease were not disclosed, and Sleeper expects no interruption to deliveries during the transi- tion. Imperial will take up approximately 50 percent of the development, allowing for possible future expansion, but anchoring the development, Sleeper said. n Construction begins on 237 Worcester apartments Construction has kicked off on the first part of a key residential component to the City Square revival of downtown Worcester. The apartment complex, 145 Front @ City Square, with 237 units, is the first phase of a development that will also include 128 residential units and a park- ing garage, according to developer Roseland, a subsidiary of Mack-Cali Realty Corp. The buildout, using a $41.5-million construction loan, is adjacent to recently purchased office towers that are set for a renovation. The apartments and resi- dences will capitalize on a close location to both downtown Worcester, transpor- tation via Union Station and easy access to Interstate 290. Boston Scientific to pay $70M for Texas company Marlborough-based Boston Scientific will expand its cancer treatment portfo- lio with the $70-million purchase of a portion of Texas-based CeloNova Biosciences. Boston Scientific will make an upfront payment of $70 million for CeloNova's interventional radiology business, according to a statement from Boston Scientific. The San Antonio-based CeloNova is a medical device company that develops endovascular and inter- ventional cardiology technologies. The agreement includes drug-eluting microspheres designed to be loaded with chemotherapy drugs for delivery to cancerous tumors, Boston Scientific said, as well as other cancer-treatment delivery devices. WBJ promotes Bonacci to digital editor As part of a new emphasis on the digital realm, Worcester Business Journal has promoted Staff Writer Sam Bonacci to the new position of digital editor. In his new role, Bonacci will oversee administration of WBJournal.com, develop and implement new social media strategies for the publication, fig- ure out the best ways to use digital con- tent throughout all WBJ products, and keep the company and its audience at the forefront of the new media age. Bonacci started with WBJ as a staff writer in 2014. He came to the publica- tion from MassLive.com, where he pro- duced daily news since 2013. He gradu- ated from Clark University and lives in Worcester. Japanese company to acquire Ocata Therapeutics Ocata Therapeutics of Marlborough, which researches treatments for eye dis- eases, has agreed to be sold to Astellas Pharma Inc. of Japan for $379 million, the two companies announced. Astellas subsidiary Laurel Acquisition Inc. will make the purchase through an $8.50-per-share tender offer of all Ocata stock. Laurel will then be merged with Ocata. Ocata and Tokyo-based Astellas said both their boards of directors had approved the agreement. Dudley Toyota dealer to change hands; remain open A long-standing auto dealership in Dudley, Tri-State Toyota, will become McGee Toyota of Dudley as the com- munity's only new car dealership cleared its final hurdle towards a sale. The sale of the dealership from Peter Krause of Tri-State Automotive Associates Inc. to Sean and Michael McGee Inc. cleared its final barrier when town selectmen voted to transfer the license, which came after Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. approved the deal in an October letter. The parties declined to disclose the intended financial terms of the sale. McGee already owns three dealerships in the eastern part of the state. Collins joins Mirick O'Connell Lawyer Christopher Collins, who worked for Unum for 31 years, has joined Mirick O'Connell as the firm continues to grow its litigation team. Collins will join the firm's life, health, disability and retirement litigation team. Prior to joining the firm he was senior vice president and general counsel at Unum US, the largest provider of group and individual disability insurance in the U.S. and a fast-growing voluntary insurance business, according to a release from Mirick O'Connell. At Unum, he provided counsel and managed the company's legal resources. Collins is a 1980 graduate of The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester. He will work from the firm's Worcester office. WinnDevelopment breaks ground in $24M Fitchburg project Boston-based WinnDevelopment has broken ground on a project that will transform a 110-year-old Fitchburg mill into 96 mixed-income apartments. The company said the three-story building, which formerly operated as the Fitchburg Yarn Mill downtown, will contain 57 market-rate units and 39 affordable units, 29 of which will be reserved for residents earning 60 per- cent or below of the area median income. The other 10 will be reserved for resi- dents earning 30 percent or below the AMI. Constructed is expected to be complete in May 2017 and cost approxi- mately $24.2 million. REGIONAL BRIEFS Verbatim "People don't have private letters. It's all done on the internet, and that should have the same privacy that somebody had when they had a diary in their drawer." Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem (D-Newton), on a bill giving social media protections. Source: Worcester Business Journal >> "Truthfully, I believe this is a very, very balanced approach. But some people just aren't going to be happy with any type of change at all." Rep. Thomas Golden (D-Lowell), on the House raising caps on solar subsidies Source: Worcester Business Journal >> "So many residents that live in one of our rural communi- ties but work in one of the three cities, so the economic and housing health of one community can have a direct impact." Marc Dohan, executive director of NewVue Communities, on its expansion Source: Worcester Business Journal >> In Review CENTRALMASS >> Continued on next page Worcester business Imperial Distributors reinvests in city

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