Top

Jobs That Pay $75,000 A Year

March 13, 2012 by · Comments Off on Jobs That Pay $75,000 A Year 

Jobs That Pay $75,000 A Year, Although Roche Group’s announced $180 million, 500-job expansion of its Ventana Medical Systems will take place across the street from its exsiting operation in Oro Valley, the decision to come here was no slam dunk.

The expansion, including the jobs that will pay an average of $75,000 a year, is the region’s biggest single economic development in close to two years. But it required a combination of cooperation among government entities to provide an incentive to bring jobs here and to ease and fast-track development.

Oro Valley officials say they believe they also got a leg up because of the neighborhood attracting other large biotech operations, including Sanofi-Aventis and the University of Arizona’s new Bio5 Oro Valley site.

The state has offered up to $2 million in incentives to Roche for its creation of jobs. Assuming, Roche meets the threshold requirements, the money will come through Arizona’s Quality Jobs Program with the funding coming from Gov. Jan Brewer’s discretionary federal stimulus fund – money given to all governors.

Pima County has also agreed to waive $8.2 million in property taxes over the next 10 years. That could go as high as $10 million if the total number of new jobs added exceeds 730. The waiver is technically contingent on the county Board of Supervisors approving an application designating it as a Foreign Trade Zone.

And Oro Valley has agreed to rebate infrastructure impact fees up to $1 million.

Over the next five years Roche will construct new buildings on about 60 acres it owns in the 535-acre Innovation Park, northwest of Oracle and Tangerine roads.

In landing the expansion, the Oro Valley site won out over three others Roche was considering – Indianapolis and unspecified locations in southern California and northern New Jersey, according to Joe Snell, president and CEO of Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities (TREO). Snell said the process took 11 months.

Indianapolis was considered a prime candidate because it is the headquarters of Roche Diagnostics. In New Jersey, Roche also has a small diagnostics facility in Branchburg. The company currently has no significant facilities in southern California.

Bottom