Business & Tech

What Do You Say: Is the Jackson Labs Move Good News?

Billions of dollars are coming to town to support biomedical science industry.

In the few weeks since Gov. Dannel Malloy said he’d made a deal with Maine-based Jackson Laboratory to bring the biomedical research company’s planned $1.1 billion facility to Farmington, hundreds of opinions have been issued on the subject.

Some agree with Malloy that the deal will bring hundreds of high-quality jobs to the area and draw other companies to the site, resulting in substantial development of the state’s economy that will make it a leader in the emerging field.

"This is how we begin to reinvent Connecticut," Malloy said during the announcement. "By investing in a smart, strategic property like Bioscience Connecticut, the state has sent a loud and clear message around the world to companies and research institutions like Jackson Laboratory that we are ready, willing and able to partner in this upcoming industry."

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The governor touted the Jackson Labs announcement as proof that the Bioscience Connecticut Initiative will be successful in creating jobs. The majority of the project involves renovating and expanding both the facilities and the work done at UConn Health Center. Malloy promised the plan would bring 16,400 jobs by 2037.

Others says the state’s portion of the Jackson Labs deal — $291 million in incentives — $192 million in construction loans and $99 million in research grants, is too much.

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Still others are disturbed by all the mice. Jackson Labs is the country’s largest supplier of mice used for genetic research.

Farmington's Rep. William Wadsworth said the Jackson Lab’s addition will be a great addition to the area.

“I’ll be very happy that the UConn Health Center is recognized for what it is and given the opportunity to grow,” he said. “It’ll benefit the people in our region too.”

Farmington Economic Development Director Courtney Hendricson acknowledged that the new facility could bring traffic challenges and details that would need to be worked out, but ultimately, the deal is great news for the town, which has been working to make the area more attractive to similar businesses. Earlier this year, the Town Council approved creating a bioscience corridor around the UConn Health Center and offering incentives for companies willing to move in.

“This goes to everything our council has strategized for the past five, six years... Those efforts help bring businesses, whether this or the little budding business in the incubator space,” Hendricson said.

And one will lead to the other, she said.

“When companies hear that other brand-name, well-reputed companies are coming in, they want to be located here, too… Jackson is a brand name in the industry and that’s an attraction. For businesses who were considering coming here because of the bioscience corridor, that’s a nice incentive but this definitely strengthens it.”


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