ASHLAND — Charles River Laboratories expects to add 500 new jobs in Ashland with the expansion of a 200,000 square-foot facility to be completed in the next couple years.
The pharmaceutical and biotechnology company currently employs 1,000 people as the area’s largest employer. Construction is set to begin in July, pending the approval of state and local tax incentives, the company said in a press release.
Ashland Mayor Matt Miller harked the announcement as the largest expansion the city has ever seen, saying the company has committed to investing “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
He said Comtex, a medical laundry company, was the last big investment in Ashland when it built a $20 million facility along U.S. 250 in 2019.
“It’s always good to be chosen,” Miller said. “Ashland is competing against other sites in much larger metropolitan areas for new jobs and new businesses and new housing. And yet over these last several years, developers and businesses are choosing to invest here in our great city.”
The facility is expected to be located on the laboratory’s existing campus on George Road. It will be a stand-alone laboratory that will also include a fitness center, meditation room and increased space for employee interaction, according to Erica Lashley, the company’s corporate vice president and regional general manager.
“As we’ve grown, we’ve recognized the need to provide our people with more perks at work,” Lashley said in a press release. “Our employees feel a strong sense of pride over the important work they do, and we want to reward their dedication with new amenities.”
The facility will be certified in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system. The green building rating system “provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings,” reads a U.S. Green Building Council description on LEED.
The 500 new jobs will be available to people with experience ranging from high school education to Ph.D. scientists, Lashley said.
Miller said Charles River leadership approached him about the project six months ago.
“On the call, there were all sorts of leaders from Charles River. They shared they were looking to do a project and that they own multiple locations where they have land. They wanted to have a conversation about how Ashland might be able to make it attractive to expand here,” he said.
The mayor told them about the city’s in-house building inspectors to expedite the building process, the city’s capacity to meet utilities needs and the willingness from governmental officials to offer tax incentives.
Miller said no local tax incentives have been approved, but that in years past the city and county have approved a 75% reduction in property taxes for 10 years on existing businesses wishing to expand.
Those incentives must be approved by Ashland City Council and the Ashland County Board of Commissioners. He expects that to happen in the next month.
Charles River also expects to receive a seven-year extension to its current Ohio Job Creation Tax Credit, which offers companies a refundable and performance-based tax credit that is calculated as a percentage of created payroll.
“Furthermore, right before I got elected we had a meeting with Charles River leadership at their local facility,” Miller said. “At the end of the meeting, we were talking about their plans. Everyone was sitting around the board table, and I asked them, ‘Is there anything we can do to make you successful?
“They spoke, and I’ll never forget what they said — ‘We need more quality apartments. Our employees are looking for quality apartments.’ ”
Miller pointed to the new apartment complexes that have recently been completed: the District at Ashland, Latitude 40 Flats. Others — such as the creation of the Pump House District in downtown Ashland — are on the horizon, he said.
“That’s why we’ve worked so hard to incentivize new housing here,” Miller said. “A few years later, here we are.”
Mike Welch, an Ashland County commissioner and vice president of Ashland Area Economic Development, said he is proud to celebrate Charles River’s investment in Ashland.
“Charles River has been a staple in Ashland for over 45 years, providing state-of-the-art jobs for our community, and industry leading research for the world. We at Grow Ashland are proud that Charles River calls Ashland ‘home,’ ” he said in a press release.
The company first established itself in Ashland in 1980 as WIL Research. Charles River Laboratories acquired it in 2016.
The company is also active in the community, having donated more than $100,000 locally in 2021 to places such as Salvation Army Ashland Kroc Center, United Way of Ashland County, Disabled American Veterans, Camp Nuhop and food banks like Hillsdale CARES and Kroc Center Food Distribution, according to a press release.
