By Joan F. Simoneau, Community Reporter
Marlborough – City Councilors unanimously approved a five-year tax concession through the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program for the SanDisk Corporation at the council's June 2 meeting. The California-based company designs, develops and manufactures flash memory storage solutions and software. It is planning to open a research and development facility in the Solomon Pond Office Park, located at 200 Donald J. Lynch Boulevard.
The resolution to support and endorse the economic development through the Framingham Regional Economic Target Area (ETA) will make SanDisk eligible for more tax incentives at the state level, according to representatives of the company who appeared before the city's Finance Committee.
In making his appeal to the City Council in April to ask for its support for the TIF, Mayor Arthur Vigeant had said,” SanDisk is committed to creating and maintaining 60 new jobs in the high skills software engineering and computer science fields.? To access this program the local municipality is required to join with the commonwealth in partnership.”
Included in SanDisk's plans for the $14.5 million dollar project is to move 80 positions currently located in its Westford facility to Marlborough.
In other business, lawmakers referred to the Finance Committee Vigeant's request to transfer $513,915 to the Marlborough Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to fully fund its fiscal year 2015 operations.
In his communication to the Council, Vigeant said: “Since coming to office in 2012 I have seen firsthand how hard the MEDC staff has worked to build a reputation as an effective, reliable organization that not only builds new relationships with potential commercial tenants but strengthens the ones we have with many of our long term businesses.
“From TJX to Quest Diagnostics, Ken's Foods to SanDisk, the MEDC has earned my trust and proven worthy of our investment,” he said.