(Danbury Daily Voice) Sen. McLachlan: “We don’t have to roll out hundreds of millions of dollars to keep good jobs in our area.”

Article as it appeared in the Danbury Daily Voice

Boehringer Ingelheim Extends Lease For Danbury Offices

DANBURY, Conn. – The nearly 900 employees in Boehringer Ingelheim’s Danbury offices will be staying where they are until at least December 2022, it was announced Tuesday morning.

“The valuation of this lease is about $90 million and it retains those jobs here in the City of Danbury,” Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said. “Companies like Boehringer and other companies in our community have choices to make about where to invest their dollars. We want them to invest in Danbury and the Greater Danbury area.”

Boehringer first moved into the Matrix Corporation Center in 2002, Boughton said. Having the company continue to stay is a major acquisition for the town.

The offices at Matrix house mainly marketing and non-research personnel for the pharmaceutical company. Its main campus for research and development is on Ridgebury Road in Ridgefield.

“We’re really excited to retain Boehringer Ingelheim,” said Aaron Smiles, managing director and head of commercial leasing for Matrix Corporate Center. The lease agreement took about a year-and-a-half to settle, Smiles said. After several back-and-forth conversations, he said the final agreement was a fair deal for both parties.

“I think I can speak for [Boehringer Ingelheim] and say that they’re very excited to stay in Danbury as well,” Boughton said. “This is a big deal for us. We’re very excited.”

The company had no representative at the news conference at Matrix and confirmed only that it would be extending its lease at the corporate center.

For state Sen. Michael McLachlan, R-Danbury, having Boehringer stay in Danbury represents a boon to the Western Connecticut economy. “This is a prime example of the leadership of chief elected officials in Western Connecticut working very closely with key resources like Matrix and Boehringer Inghelheim and doing it in an effective way where we don’t have to roll out hundreds of millions to keep good jobs in our area.”