The new headquarters includes two seven-story buildings totaling 446,000 square feet, an increase of more than 160,000 square feet, which makes it more than a third larger than the former Deerfield, Ill., location. The buildings and site emphasize sustainability, and the complex is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification. The company’s more than 1,000 employees recently relocated to the new headquarters, and the expansion includes the addition of 150 good paying, high-tech jobs.
Along with the expansion, Astellas will be investing $140 million in Illinois, creating 150 new high-tech jobs.
“At Astellas, we measure success not only by bringing innovative pharmaceuticals to patients and physicians, but also by our commitment to the communities in which we work,” said Masao Yoshida, president and CEO of Astellas Pharma US. “The new Astellas headquarters for the Americas is a symbol of the company’s continued growth, and our close cooperation with the state of Illinois and Governor Quinn’s office. The new buildings are a result of that collaboration and our confidence that Illinois is a good place to do business.”
To bolster the company's $140 million investment in Illinois, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is providing a strategic investment package of approximately $4 million in Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) corporate income tax credits and Employer Training Investment Program (ETIP) job training funds. ETIP credits will help Astellas enhance the skills of its workforce while EDGE credits are based and contingent on job creation. If the company does not meet its job creation targets and commitments, they will no longer be eligible for the tax credits.
“We are committed to establishing Illinois as a leading hub of life sciences, and our work is paying off,” said Illinois governor Pat Quinn. “Illinois has some of the best research and intellectual capital in the world, and these assets help us attract and support the growth of high-potential companies like Astellas in Illinois.”
