Medical device maker Boston Scientific is planning a new, $170 million campus in Maple Grove, where it already has significant operations.
City documents outlined a 400,000-square-foot facility on a 40-acre site of a former gravel mining area. It will include research and development labs, training facilities and office space. But this new facility will not be adjacent to Boston Scientific's existing campus.
"While our project plans have not yet been finalized with the State of Minnesota, the new construction of an additional site can enable growth by adding workspace and further collaboration opportunities for our teams," Boston Scientific said in a statement Wednesday.
City Administrator Heidi Nelson, said Maple Grove will contribute $6.4 million in tax increment financing to the project. The city has approved the company's concept plan.
The new project ensures the retention of about 1,000 Boston Scientific employees currently in Maple Grove. According to documents filed with the city, those jobs could have left if Boston Scientific had selected alternate sites in Massachusetts or Georgia. A project overview in state documents said the company "expects to create 177 jobs within the first three years at an average cash wage of $65.08 per hour."
Boston Scientific already has a 79-acre campus in Maple Grove. The company added a new 78,000-square-foot building there last fall, an expansion the sales of its Watchman cardiac device — largely made in Minnesota — drove.
Boston Scientific has 8,700 employees in the state. The company has grown in the state through acquisitions of several Minnesota-based medtech companies.
The company is seeking $6 million from two state funds the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) oversees.
"We are working through the process with Boston Scientific as they consider an expansion of their facilities. We are excited about this potential investment in the state," Kevin McKinnon, deputy commissioner at DEED, said in a statement.
On a visit to the Maple Grove campus earlier this year, Boston Scientific CEO Mike Mahoney spoke to the company's growth there.
"This whole campus has really ballooned over the last five to six years. We've added a number of jobs to this campus. It's easily doubled since I've been with the company," Mahoney said.
The Boston Scientific project is part of a larger 100-acre site Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies and Maple Grove-based C.S. McCrossan are redeveloping as the Minnesota Science and Technology Center.
Medical device company Nextern Inc. is also building a $25 million headquarters there. Maple Grove Mayor Mark Steffenson said the project just recently broke ground.
Steffenson said the overall redevelopment is drawing new investment to his city.
"It's going to create a huge, continuing influx of these medtech jobs," Steffenson said.