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Bristol-Myers Squibb picks area near TIA for 579-job expansion

 
Published Sept. 5, 2013

TAMPA — After announcing a major 579-job expansion this summer to Hillsborough County, Bristol-Myers Squibb on Wednesday identified where it will set up its new North America Capability Center.

The New Jersey pharmaceutical giant said it will lease 70,000 square feet of office space at 5104 S Eisenhower Blvd., northwest of Tampa International Airport.

The company will occupy about half of a four-story, 130,000-square-foot building off the Veterans Expressway and W Hillsborough Avenue.

The 10-year agreement with property owner Tier REIT includes a company option to lease an additional 60,000 square feet. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

With nearly $18 billion in annual revenues and 28,000 employees, Bristol-Myers Squibb chose Hillsborough and the Tampa Bay market after considering several potential locations in the Central and Eastern time zones. North Carolina was among the most serious competitors.

Hillsborough County commissioners had approved more than $2 million to help recruit the pharmaceutical company.

Those funds will complement a state incentive package. If the company creates all of the promised jobs, it could get about $6 million in total incentives paid out over several years.

The company said about 250 workers in information technology, marketing services, business and finance services and other functions supporting the company's U.S. biopharmaceutical business will occupy the center when it opens.

Most positions at the center will be filled by people living in the Tampa Bay area. The company said it will soon post Tampa positions on the website www.bms.com/careers and will continue to post additional positions throughout the year.

Interviews are slated to start around October. The company expects to complete the initial round of staffing by the end of December.

By 2017, Bristol-Myers Squibb also plans to locate more than 325 additional jobs supporting scientific and technical activities at the site.

The jobs pay an average of $65,000 a year, the company said.