🔒Saint-Gobain receives $195K tax break for ongoing $120M Northborough R&D expansion

Saint-Gobain is continuing to expand its Northborough industrial research campus, having received a $195,000 tax credit from the state to help fund its efforts as it works to finalize another tax deal with the Town of Northborough. Saint-Gobain received the tax credit from the Massachusetts Economic Assistance Coordinating Council. It comes as the company is working to renovate 80,000 square feet of buildings at its campus, with a focus on the oldest building at the site, Todd DiNoia, vice president, innovation & R&D at Saint-Gobain Research North America, said during a Northborough Select Board meeting in July. The company has been working on the $120-million expansion of the site since 2007, when it first received approvals for a masterplan calling for up to 379,400 square feet of development of the campus, according to a 2024 site plan submitted to the Town of Northborough. The campus is home to Saint-Gobain Research North America, a multidisciplinary research site the company has operated since 1985, one of eight it operates worldwide, according to its website. The 26-acre employs 350 people and is split between Northborough and Marlborough, with an address of 9 Goddard Road in Northborough, according to its website. The state funding comes as Saint-Gobain and the Town of Northborough are negotiating specifics of a tax increment financing deal, which voters approved at Northborough’s annual town meeting in May. The Northborough Select Board entered executive session during its Sept. 8 meeting to discuss negotiations of the agreement, according to the meeting agenda, with an update expected at its next meeting on Oct. 6. The latest renovations at the site are expected to create 13 new jobs, with 50 additional Saint-Gobain employees relocating to the site from other company locations in Massachusetts, according to a Sep. 16 press release from MEACC. The company previously received approvals from Northborough in 2024 to construct a spray lab facility and a demonstration pad, according to the Community Advocate. Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.