Finance Committee recommends 20-year TIF for BJ's Wholesale Club headquarters move

MARLBOROUGH -- May 3, 2021, Marlborough Finance Committee advances 20-year BJ's TIF on a divided 3-2 vote. The agreement covers BJ's Wholesale Club's relocation of its corporate headquarters from Westborough into 187,825 square feet at 350 and 100 Campus Drive plus a new 120,000-square-foot parking garage, with the TIF structured almost entirely around the garage. Mayor Arthur Vigeant told the committee BJ's will invest $26 million to $28 million, maintain 800 on-site jobs, and generate roughly $360,000 in building-permit fees, against an estimated $592,419 in taxes exempted over 20 years. Councilor Kathleen Perlman voted no, calling the deal "a better deal for the BJ's community" given that the jobs are transfers, not new positions; Councilor Mark Oram abstained pending a written balance sheet. The resolution will be amended to strike language about jobs "not merely replace or relocate" within the commonwealth before returning to the full Council.