Somerville Council OKs 10‑year TIF to Court TransMedics to Assembly Square

The Somerville City Council voted Oct. 23 to authorize Mayor to execute a 10‑year tax increment financing agreement with a full‑building laboratory tenant to help secure a proposed headquarters and operations facility for TransMedics in Assembly Square.

Mayor (name on file with city) told the council the proposal is "one of the most significant economic development opportunities our city has seen in recent years," saying the deal would bring hundreds of jobs, activate a currently vacant life‑science building and generate future tax revenue while creating community benefits tied to job training and school partnerships.

Rachel Nadkarni, Somerville director of economic development, walked the council through the proposed TIF structure and financial model. The city and its consultant modeled an approximately $200 million tenant fit‑out that would produce roughly $41.28 million in incremental tax revenue over 10 years. Under the negotiated package, the TIF relief to the company is capped at $18 million over the 10‑year period; the arrangement would still leave an estimated $23.28 million of net incremental tax revenue to the city over that decade, the director said.

TransMedics executives described the company’s work and local commitments. Gerard Hernandez, TransMedics chief financial officer, said the company’s organ care system (OCS) keeps donated organs near‑physiologic for transport and improves utilization. Nick Corcoran, senior vice president for supply chain operations, and Farhan Zafar, chief of cardiothoracic programs, described a national logistics network, a 22‑plane dedicated aviation fleet used only for organ transport and a manufacturing footprint that the company said it intends to expand if Somerville is selected.

Councilors pressed company and staff on key terms: how the aviation fleet is used (company representatives said planes are dedicated to organ transport), ongoing litigation and commercial risk (TransMedics said class‑action suits are typical of public companies and did not identify pending litigation that would preclude the company from proceeding), job commitments and enforcement, and a series of community benefits the company described as part of its local partnership plan (including donations to robotics programs and a commitment to host high‑school interns).

Nadkarni said the TIF document includes a standard clawback tied to employment performance: if TransMedics fails to reach at least 70 percent of its committed employment targets, the city may reduce or reclaim tax relief under the agreement. The package also includes a negotiated partial building permit fee reduction for the tenant’s fit‑out.

Councilor Scott moved to authorize the mayor to sign the TIF agreement. The motion passed on a recorded voice roll call with all Councilors voting in favor. After the vote Councilor McLaughlin moved for reconsideration "in the hopes that reconsideration fails"; the council declined to change the vote and the motion to reconsider failed.

The council and administration emphasized the tradeoffs: filling a fully vacant lab building would remove roughly 500,000 square feet from Greater Boston’s available lab inventory, provide immediate daytime foot traffic for local businesses and likely spur additional investment nearby. City staff cautioned that the agreement assumes the company signs a lease; it does not guarantee TransMedics will locate in Somerville. Mayor and staff said the city is competing with other communities for the tenant and that the TIF is intended as a time‑sensitive inducement.

What’s next: the mayor will execute the agreement if TransMedics signs a lease and the agreed conditions are met. The council directed staff to continue public reporting on implementation and enforcement of job and community commitments included in the package.