No wonder the Globe front-paged this!
"Liberty Mutual sets Hub expansion; Plans $300m tower, addition of 600 jobs" by Casey Ross, Globe Staff | February 12, 2010
Yeah, the state has lost over 300,000 jobs during this last bout of recession -- but these trumpeted jobs will save us, Bay State!
Related: Massachusetts' Lost Decade of Jobs
Think of all the s*** the newspaper has shoveled since, and then tell me they are not doing it again. They never stop, readers.
Liberty Mutual Group, one of Boston’s oldest corporate titans, will expand its operations in the Back Bay with a $300 million office tower and 600 additional employees, a sharp reversal of the city’s recent history of losing the headquarters of large employers that once dominated its landscape....
The project provides the city with an immediate economic boost at a time when most major real estate projects are stalled. Construction could begin as soon as September and will create 500 building trades jobs, officials said.
That is NOT REALLY IMMEDIATE, is it?
Sigh.
“Their decision to expand their presence and grow over 1,000 jobs is great news for the city and the state and another indication that we are on the road to economic recovery,’’ said Governor Deval Patrick.
Did you hear something, readers? I didn't.
To help Liberty Mutual, Mayor Thomas M. Menino said the city is providing a $16 million property tax break.
Unflipping real!
Yup, as YOUR TAXES GO UP, Bay Staters!
Also see the Massachusetts State Budget for where your tax dollars go!!
Doesn't he have better things to do?
I guess not.
In exchange, the mayor said, the new building will net the city $50 million in property taxes over the next 20 years.
Yeah, sure, promises, promises.
Related: Massachusetts' Business Tax Increase Was a Corporate Tax Cut
Pass that salt shaker there, will you, reader?
The Boston Redevelopment Authority will vote on the proposed tax break next Tuesday. The tax agreement also needs a sign-off from the City Council.....
Also see: How Big is Your BRA, Boston?
Just got a bit bigger, didn't it?
The decision to grow downtown runs contrary to several high-profile losses of Boston companies, including the acquisition of Gillette Co., by Cincinnati-based Proctor & Gamble Co. and of BankBoston by Fleet Financial Group, which in turn was bought by Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp.
Yeah, thanks, BoA.
Chipmaker Teradyne Inc., also founded in Boston, moved its headquarters to North Reading.
See: Teradyne the Tip of the High-Tech Iceberg
And even Fidelity Investments, still one of the city’s largest employers, continues to spread operations to locations outside Boston, sometimes in other states.
It was the emergence of insurance giants such as Liberty Mutual, John Hancock Financial Services, and New England Life in the late 1800s and early 1900s that made the Back Bay a premier business address....
Although the Salvation Army and Benjamin Franklin Smith buildings will be torn down to make way for the new tower, city officials said a third building on the site that houses the restaurant Grille 23 will likely be preserved....
Isn't this always the way?
Liberty Mutual has grown steadily in recent years and is the nation’s fifth-largest property and casualty insurer. In 2008, it spent $6.2 billion to acquire Safeco Corp., a Seattle insurer.
Standard & Poor’s noted in a recent report that Liberty has a strong position in the US market and appears poised to expand both its home and auto insurance lines. The S&P report noted Liberty Mutual’s earnings are below average compared to peers, but it has not suffered the credit problems of other financial services firms.
Liberty’s expansion plan comes as the city is reviewing building guidelines in the area surrounding the proposed project. Some officials and residents involved in that review said the Menino administration appears to have blessed the project before finishing its review.
It's called a fait accompli, right?
“I’m pleased Liberty Mutual wants to expand in the Back Bay, but I’m disappointed it is moving forward before the re-zoning process is complete,’’ said State Representative Martha Walz, whose district includes the proposed development. “The BRA is putting the cart before the horse.’’
Kairos Shen, the BRA’s chief planner, said the agency intends to complete a thorough review of the proposal.
“There certainly isn’t a presumption that we have an approved project here,’’ he said....
Oh, so pressure need be exerted?
--more--"
