BLS & Co. provided incentives advisory services for SKF USA Inc.’s new Global Technical Center – Americas (GTCA), an engineering research and development center supporting SKF’s North and South American manufacturing operations. Naperville, IL -- a suburb of Chicago – was chosen for the 130,000 square foot build-to-suit facility.
BLS & Co. was engaged by Mead Johnson Nutritionals, following its spinoff by Bristol-Myer Squibb, to advise the company on the choice of destination for its new executive offices.
BLS & Co. managed a multi-market comparative analysis in North America that ultimately resulted in the relocation of the company's leadership tier to a new Class A office space in Glenview, IL (suburban Chicago).
The firm also secured an EDGE grant from the State of Illinois to reduce the costs and help manage the risks associated with the redeployment.
BLS & Co. advised Gartner on a headquarters location and incentives strategy, enabling the renewal of its lease in Stamford, Connecticut. Our firm secured incentives, utilizing the Urban and Industrial Site Reinvestment Tax Credit, DECD direct assistance, sales tax exemption and property tax abatement.
BLS & Co. also conducted a comprehensive evaluation of location options in multiple markets, including Columbus, GA and Jackson, MS, to accommodate Gartner’s growing space requirements for their operations in Ft. Myers, FL. Gartner ultimately decided to lease a newly constructed 120,000 sf facility adjacent to its existing building in Florida.
Our advisory services in Stamford resulted in...
Our evaluation in Florida resulted in...
When Roche required assistance to fast-track a decision on the location of its new Translational Clinical Research Center (TCRC), the company engaged BLS & Co. to secure incentives in support of this elite research early development organization. After a thorough site selection process, the company chose the build-to-suit Alexandria Center on Manhattan’s east side for its new facility.
Since our first project with Eli Lilly and Company (“Lilly”) in 2008, BLS & Co. has served as strategic advisor on multiple site selection and incentives advisory projects throughout the company’s real estate portfolio, involving over $8 billion in planned investment and 3,000 in announced new positions.
Project Highlights
BLS & Co. and its energy services affiliate Sugarloaf Associates conducted a thorough review of Florida Power & Light’s 35-county territory to pre-qualify sites for data centers and mission-critical facilities. Four diverse sites were selected. The sites offer a unique combination of factors desired by today’s mission critical and data center operations, including highly reliable and redundant power and fiber infrastructures, competitive cost structures, and locations insulated from manmade and natural risks.
BLS/SLA also provided advisory service and expert witness in the development of a new FPL electric economic development rider for data centers and large manufacturing plants in Florida's FPL territory.
BLS & Co. conducted a comparison of warehouse labor markets in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia to help inform Avon's location decision-making.
We examined labor supply, demand, quality, and cost indicators including present and projected population levels, unemployment rates, education attainment, unionization, wage and income levels.
BLS & Co. worked with the Philadelphia Inquirer to secure an incentives package for the retention of its headquarters in Center City.
BLS & Co. was successful in restructuring the RCAP incentives program as well as securing low interest rate financing through Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation.
Prudential employs more than 4,800 people in the City of Newark where the Company occupies more than 1.8 million square feet of space. With several of its leases in the City set to expire the Company commenced a comprehensive evaluation of its Newark occupancy to identify the optimal location strategy.
BLS & Co. advised Prudential on the role of incentives in its overall location strategy, and ultimately secured approval of an Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit award in support of the construction of a proposed new facility and the creation of new high-compensation positions. The project, which will result in a redevelopment of an entire city block, represents the single largest project in Newark in a generation.
BLS was pleased to work with MycoWorks, a producer of a biomaterial made from mycelium, on the site selection for their first commercial-scale plant. The finished product is used to make consumer products such as luxury bags, luggage, shoes and other apparel from a sustainable and renewable “leather substitute” material. After a national search for suitable locations to meet operating requirements and other siting criteria, a location was selected and announced in March 2022 in Union, South Carolina. BLS also assisted MycoWorks in the negotiation of a competitive incentives package from both Union County and the South Carolina Department of Commerce.
An existing 100k SF spec building was fitted out to the company’s operational needs, and a 30,000 SF office was added on to the building to house corporate operational functions as well as plant management. The estimated total investment is $100 million. MycoWorks officially began production in the new facility in October 2023 with plans to hire 130 employees.
As sustainability in the manufacturing process was important to the company, BLS also provided negotiation support for renewable energy purchases for the South Carolina facility, as well as Renewable Energy Credits (RECS) for another facility the client operates in California.
BLS & Co. was engaged by Kuehne + Nagel, a global transport and logistics company, to provide site selection services for a planned new operation and training facility. After a nationwide search, Kuehne + Nagel decided to locate its first-ever Operational Care Center (OCC) and Career Development Program in downtown Detroit. The office will employ nearly 200 people by 2021.
BLS has represented Citigroup on projects throughout North America for over 20 years. Starting with Citi’s initial presence in Tampa, BLS developed and implemented incentives strategies in support of diverse projects, ranging from data centers to enterprise services facilities, across a broad footprint, including Florida, Texas, Ohio, New York and New Jersey.
Most recently, BLS has supported Citi on a multi-phased portfolio optimization process in the NY Metro area, including multiple incentives transactions, ongoing monitoring of legislation and regulations, and intervention in policy making. BLS also represented Citi in securing incentives in support of its recent decision to expand in the Tampa market.
Locations: Florida, Texas, Ohio, New York, New Jersey
HelloFresh, an international meal kit company with offices in New York City and Germany, chose to relocate and expand its operations to Newark, NJ. After a nationwide search, the firm decided to lease a 217,000 square foot distribution space and an additional 20,000 square feet of office space in downtown Newark. The NJ Economic Development Authority estimates the project will yield a net benefit to the state of $4.1 million over 20 years.
HelloFresh is committed to science-based emissions reduction targets. In the US, HelloFresh piloted a new software that optimizes energy use by the refrigeration systems in distribution centers. Refrigeration is the largest electricity consumer in the company’s operating facilities, and HelloFresh is now rolling out the software across all US facilities. HelloFresh US has also sourced renewable electricity for 100% of its facilities since 2020. This was accomplished by procuring renewable wind energy in electric deregulated states and using renewable energy credits (RECs) in these states.
BLS & Co served as site selection and incentives consultant for Omnicom Group Inc. in support of the company’s competitive location decision-making process for targeted functions to be relocated out of New York City.
BLS & Co. advised Omnicom on evaluation of alternative relocation strategies to maximize savings and minimize operational disruption by redeploying selected operations to be co-located with related functions in cities where the company has successful operating experience and excess real estate capacity. Ultimately, the incentives package from the State of New Jersey was sufficient to induce the company to relocate nearly 500 jobs to Jersey City. Omnicom considered locations in Connecticut, Texas, Ohio and Costa Rica before selecting New Jersey.
A confidential BLS life sciences client was searching for a new manufacturing site to access 100% renewable electricity and generate 10% of its electric requirement with onsite solar. The site was also required to enable procuring renewable electric commodities from a third-party supplier or the electric utility supplying the chosen site, depending on the market structure at the site. If directly accessing renewable energy was not an option, it planned to purchase “new RECs” until it could procure the supply from the utility or third-party supplier. The project began as a national (U.S.) search and carries hundreds of jobs and an investment in the hundreds of millions, demonstrating the importance of large-scale projects on renewable energy.
BLS & Co. serves as location and incentives advisor to biotechnology industry leader Genentech, the South San Francisco-based member of the Roche Group. Genentech develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines to treat patients worldwide with serious medical conditions. During our most recent engagement for Genentech, BLS & Co. managed a nationwide search for a second location for their Access Solutions Patient Service Center. Access Solutions employees help patients understand their insurance benefits; find ways to help those who cannot afford their Genentech medicines; and work with doctors and pharmacists to deliver medicines to patients. With the advice and guidance of the firm, Genentech selected Portland, OR for this mission critical operation, which opened for business in May 2019. The new Portland Patient Access Center employs approximately 175 full-time specialists and an almost equal number of contingent employees during the peak insurance benefit open season. The firm also advised Genentech on an Oregon Business Retention Program (BEP) grant and various market-entry strategies.