Tax Incentive for Biomeasure Expansion Advances

Milford Town Meeting voters will be asked to approve a tax incentive for a planned expansion of the that town officials say will lead to increased job opportunities.

The TIF proposal, , would provide a 70 percent decrease on the property taxes for the expanded facility in fiscal 2013, gradually decreasing to a 10 percent break by the seventh year of the 10-year agreement.

The company, located at 27 Maple St., is a subsidiary of Ipsen. It already has a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) agreement with the town and state, and the new agreement would cover the 60,000-square-foot addition, which will more than double the size of the facility.

The value of the expansion is estimated at $40 million.

In a letter to the town, the company's treasurer said groundbreaking could occur this year, and the project would be completed in two years. Biomeasure would retain its 160 full-time employees on the site and expects to add 20 new positions to support the expanded facility.

Biomeasure is part of a multi-million dollar international company that conducts medical research. Employees at the Milford facility are working on a new protein that may enhance cartilage regeneration.

According to Town Administrator Louis Celozzi, the company located in Milford after considering a site in Marlborough.