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State economic development efforts in Devens will be dealt a blow come the end of 2010, when more than 650,000 square feet of commercial space will stand empty after Gillette pulls up stakes and vacates two buildings.
MassDevelopment, which runs the former U.S. Army base-turned-business park situated between the towns of Ayer, Shirley, Harvard and Lancaster, says it’s up to the challenge.
Officials there say they will use the departure of the region’s most famous corporate resident as an opportunity to push for more high-tech tenants to relocate to Devens.
“Our strategy dovetails with that of the state. We want to target clean tech, life sciences, defense, advanced technology and medical devices,” said Mark Sternman, MassDevelopment ’s vice president of communication and policy. He said the business park is trying to attract companies to incubate, as well as the largest players in their industries.
After Gillette was bought by Procter & Gamble Co. in 2005 for $53 billion, Gillette shuttered one facility in Devens and drew up plans to close a second in 2010. A contract packaging facility also will be vacated. The buildings are owned by CrossHarbor Capital Partners and are being marketed by Richards Barry Joyce and Company, but MassDevelopment will assist in recruiting businesses.
The marquee name in Devens now, undoubtedly, is Bristol Myers Squibb Co., which has completed its $750 million manufacturing facility there and expects to gain U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to begin making drugs there next year. MassDevelopment officials said if startups, particularly in the life sciences, weren’t aware of opportunities in Devens before, they certainly are now.
But with lots of new space coming on line, the agency will have its work cut out for it. The commercial building owned by MassDevelopment at 94 Jackson Road is itself just 65 percent filled. Officials there said the number of businesses in Devens has remained steady at around 70 through the recession, but recruitment of new businesses has been slow.
“We clearly had fewer people coming in to see property,“ said Meg Delorier, MassDevelopment’s chief of staff. Delorier said MassDevelopment recently expanded its team by hiring a senior vice president, and it plans to announce a major new deal by the end of July, though she would not disclose the name of the company.
She also said a residential project, called Vicksburg Square and long stalled by local opposition, will now move forward.
One of Devens’ success stories has been American Superconductor Corp. The company was a pioneer, locating its manufacturing facility there back in 2001. In 2007, the company decided to also move its headquarters to Devens from Marlborough. The company’s head count has swelled by 25 percent in the past few years, and 165 of the company’s 740 employees now work in Devens. One of the draws has been the tax benefits.
“Any superconductor wire produced at this facility and sent overseas is not taxed,” Jason Fredette, American Superconductor’s managing director of corporate communications, said. This allows the company to return extra profit to shareholders. Officials there said the location has also been a good recruitment tool because the company can offer Boston-area residents a reverse commute and the site is within striking distance of several parts of the state and New Hampshire.
By some measures, the development of Devens has met, or is close to meeting, long-term goals. For example, the 1996 reuse plan for Devens, written when the military facility was closed, called for the creation of at least 2,900 jobs by 2033 to make up for the same number of civilian jobs that were lost by the closure. MassDevelopment says that there are now more than 3,000 employees working in Devens. In addition to the current vacancies and those to be created by Gillette’s move, the complex had been projected to host 8.2 million square feet of commercial space, according to a 2008 article by Peter C. Lowitt, director of the Devens Enterprise Commission. Sternman said there is currently about 6 million square feet.
In the early days, Fredette said, there were no restaurants and few other services in Devens. But amenities, including a gas station, a dry cleaner, a full-service restaurant, a hotel and even a Dunkin Donuts, have sprung up, according to state Rep. Robert Hargraves, whose district includes the town of Ayer. He said he’s satisfied with the efforts to bring new businesses into Devens. But there’s one way in which Devens compares unfavorably to high-tech hubs like Cambridge. What Hargraves says is missing is a little culture.
“I would really like to see the Devens Military Museum take off, because that would really bring people in,” Hargraves said. The museum has over 5,000 military artifacts, including uniforms, weaponry and love letters between soldiers and their wives and girlfriends. The museum is also a source for academic research on, of all things, the flu. “The epidemic in 1917 took a huge toll on the base. More than 1,400 soldiers died,” said Bert Tompkins, chairman of the museum’s board of directors. Tompkins says the museum has been subsisting on a yearly grant of $25,000 from MassDevelopment and donations from individual members.
Attendance at the museum, on the second floor at 94 Jackson Road, is hurt by low visibility of the location, even though the museum is free. The museum has a new location in mind but will need $100,000 to move. Tompkins says Hargraves and other legislators have pushed for a grant from the state but have been unsuccessful so far. “We know that the state is in tough shape financially, and it won’t happen this year. But we want to keep it on everyone’s mind.”
Technology around the fort
Some of the technology companies calling the former Fort Devens home:
Acorn Technology Systems Inc.
American Superconductor Corp.
Bionostics Inc.
Bristol Myers Squibb Co.
Evergreen Solar Inc.
Harvard Computing Group Inc.
Integra Companies Inc.
Integrated Process Technologies
Johnson Mathey Pharma Services
MegaWave Corp.
Netstal Maschinen AG
Odic Inc.
Polycarbon Industries Inc.
Response Microwave Inc.
SABIC Polymershapes
Sirius Integrator Inc.
Source: http://www.devenscommunity.com
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