Tufts will begin construction this year on the Grafton Science Park, a site for buildings and laboratories housing professional biological and medical researchers.
The project's advancement was aided by an agreement to resolve a tax dispute signed earlier this month by the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and the town of Grafton, Massachusetts.
The agreement, which commits Tufts to paying $55,000 annually to the town in return for services including emergency response preparedness, infrastructure maintenance and administrative assistance, grew out of a disagreement between the two parties concerning a tax bill that the town had issued to Tufts.
The town taxed Tufts in 2006 for Discovery Drive, a roadway that the school had recently constructed on the future grounds of the Science Park.
Tufts appealed this bill, claiming that as a non-profit educational institution it should not be taxed for its construction.
"The town does provide services and doesn't get a tax revenue," Grafton Town Administrator Natalie Lashmit told the Daily.
The problem was resolved with a compromise. As part of this month's contribution agreement, Grafton will discount any tax payments Tufts made in fiscal 2006 and 2007 for the taxable part of its property, and Tufts will withdraw its appeal of the Discovery Drive tax.
The agreement deems Grafton Science Park a tax-exempt, educational institution, but establishes Discovery Drive as commercial and taxable. Its tax value will be $2 million. Tufts will be taxed for the road until it is established as a public street.
"Instead of taxing all the land, we backed down to just the roadway," Lashmit said. "We didn't want to say, 'Tufts, you're taxable,' so we had to find a compromise. If you can't generate tax bills what do you do? So we created an agreement."
The New England Regional Biosafety Laboratory will be the first building to be constructed in the Science Park.
"The New England Regional Biosafety Laboratory is expected to be the magnet that will attract companies and businesses. We received a $15 million NIH [National Institutes of Health] grant to build it," Barbara Donato, the Cummings School's assistant director of public relations, told the Daily.
"Construction on this building is currently in the planning stages, but should commence later this year," she said.
She called the construction of the Grafton Science Park "a joint effort to attract life science companies to Grafton Science Park, which will benefit both the town and the school."
Tufts is "in the process of recruiting [businesses] to set up research in the park," she said.
According to Lashmit, Grafton welcomes this development. "The town of Grafton is pleased to move forward with the university to attract tenants to a premier location for biotechnology firms and other related commercial enterprises," she said.
Although it lies on the Cummings School campus, the park will not have any classrooms, but will instead serve as a workplace for business people and researchers.
Tufts professors and students will potentially have the opportunity to work alongside these professionals in the park's labs and offices, Donato said.
In another part of the agreement, Tufts has agreed to provide Select Agent First Responder Training to Grafton police officers and fire fighters, who in turn will aid Tufts in emergencies according to the new agreement.
The school will also provide protective equipment to the town's fire department, and will pay $4,000 for police equipment.
According to Donato, the net result will be a mutual understanding between the school and the town regarding their commitment and responsibilities to each other.
