One decade after launching her business with the goal of advancing business growth with state and local tax incentives, Business Development Strategies, Inc., (BDS) president and founder Lynn Tokarczyk has become a leader in strengthening the commercial real estate market in Massachusetts. The government incentives consultant and her team have helped dozens of growing companies build the state economy by adding 5 million s/f of new construction, 20 million s/f of renovations, retaining 10,000 jobs, creating 5,000 jobs, investing $700 million in private capital, and flowing thousands of dollars into local business and government coffers.
It is an unparalleled record, made more remarkable by the fact that many of BDS's clients could move anywhere in the world but choose Massachusetts because of the favorable opportunities for real estate growth and business expansion.
Starting as a project manager and later, regional director at the Massachusetts Office of Business Development under the Cellucci Administration, Tokarczyk mastered the state's economic development tools and helped hundreds of businesses expand and add jobs. At the same time, she assisted with key infrastructure projects that were completed on time to accommodate business expansion decisions. Later, at Ernst & Young's New England Area State and Local Tax Incentives Practice, Tokarczyk generated significant benefits for Fortune 500 companies on key business incentive projects. Upon starting BDS in 2003, she began building her reputation as a tenacious dealmaker whose superb negotiating skills drew some of the world's best-known companies to her door.
Samsonite Corp. was one of BDS's early successes. In 2005, the company sought BDS's help in securing a Special Tax Assessment (STA) and state Investment Tax Credit (ITC) in anticipation of relocating its offices from Rhode Island to Mansfield, Mass. Even though this was Mansfield's first STA, BDS managed to garner widespread support for the measure. Samsonite now occupies more than 65,000 s/f of space in the 850-acre Cabot Business Park in Mansfield.
Horizon Beverage Co., New England's largest privately held, family-owned distributor of spirits, wine and beer, contacted BDS in 2011 about securing a $2.5 million package of state and local incentives for the purchase, renovation and expansion of one of Norton's largest vacant buildings in order to keep pace with demand for its products. BDS's success in securing the incentives allowed Horizon to move forward with its plan to relocate its operations to the estimated 404,000 s/f facility and construct a 160,000 s/f onsite distribution and office addition.
By the time IPG Photonics Corporation reached out to BDS for assistance in obtaining a multi-million dollar package of incentives for expansion of its world headquarters, the company had grown into the world's leading manufacturer of high performance fiber lasers and amplifiers. The local tax increment financing (TIF) and state ITC secured by BDS helped IPG offset the cost of building a more than 100,000 s/f addition to its Oxford facility.
Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) executive vice president for legislative affairs John Regan said that Tokarczyk has been an important contributor to the health of the commercial real estate market in Mass. "Her pro-business attitude and background and knowledge of government incentives continue to be essential to the business community and have assisted in significantly enhancing the Massachusetts real estate market," he said.
Celebrating 10 years of success in 2013, Business Development Strategies, Inc. (BDS) has grown into a leading government incentives consulting firm in Mass. BDS helps expanding companies identify, negotiate and secure government incentives for real estate expansion projects that create and retain jobs, and enhance the state and local economy. Providing a full range of services in real estate assessments, resident outreach, government incentives tax law, and more, BDS helps clients save cash and expand.