The recent announcement that General Electric is coming to Boston has generated the inevitable controversy over why global giants with big profits deserve tax breaks just to move to town. As a building automated systems electrical contractor, I can tell you that the GE deal is one Boston could not refuse.
First, the property could generate $48 million over the 20 years of the tax break, meaning the city could still pocket about $23 million, according to the Globe. The Boston Business Journal puts the number even higher, estimating that the city could earn $35 millionin gross tax revenue over that period.
Whatever the number, it will be substantial.
Second, the state offered $120 million in grants that could be put toward public works to support the new headquarters. Governor Charlie Baker’s administration said in Januarythat the state grants could go toward projects on public property including new roads and highway ramps, water and sewer infrastructure, public parking facilities, utility work, or site demolition and remediation. That’s likely to generate hundreds of good-paying construction jobs, not only for the roads and bridges but at GE’s site itself. Reportedly, GE already expects to spend between $80-100 million, a number that will yield hundreds, if not thousands, of solid middle class jobs for Greater Boston workers.
Besides the temporary but important construction jobs, the GE move will generate several hundred high-paying corporate jobs, as well. About 800 people work at the current Fairfield headquarters. The company says its new Boston office will include 200 corporate jobs and about 600 tech-oriented jobs: designers, programmers and the like.
Not only will GE itself generate these important technology jobs but they will also produce workers with new ideas, new innovations and, in some cases, new companies, which in turn will generate even more jobs.
Third, it’s important not to understate the boost in morale. As Jerry Sargent, Citizens Bank’s Massachusetts president and longtime Boston booster, recently said, “I don’t think you can underestimate psychologically how important of a win this is for the state.” Well put. But beyond that, there’s the inevitable ripple effect: General Electric is expected to be a draw for other technology companies, particularly those in the “Internet of Things” sector that specialize in software and hardware to connect various devices.
And then there are the bragging rights. Landing one of the world’s biggest companies unfurls a giant banner, one that essentially says “We’re open for business” to the world. It was imperative Boston secure a major player if only to demonstrate our resurgence as a national, and yes, global, player in technology and innovation. General Electric puts a real exclamation point on that.
To some, the GE move signals not the beginning but the end of the innovation phase of the Seaport. What was once a haven for start-ups is now an area dotted with giants. Here at J.M. Electrical, we have worked on buildings for startups as well as huge projects for Vertex Pharmaceuticals and PricewaterhouseCoopers Headquarters (PwC), including the installation of the facility’s HVAC control system for their newly opened building on Seaport Boulevard.
But we believe GE’s entrance – with its long tradition of innovation and industrial leadership – will actually open a new chapter for our city’s entrepreneurial sector. With thousands of acres still underdeveloped, there is plenty of room for both corporate giants and small startups. Perhaps no company bridges that gap better than General Electric, a global leader and entrepreneurial startup all in one.
Welcome to Boston, GE. Together, let’s bring good things to light.
