Boston Financial Data Services signs lease for waterfront complex

Tuesday, June 3, 2008 - VillageSoup/Knox County Times

ROCKLAND, Maine — Boston Financial Data Services of Boston announced Tuesday that it has leased the former MBNA waterfront building in Rockland and plans to create 250 jobs in the next two years.

Boston Financial Data Services Inc., a leading provider of investor and intermediary services to the financial services industry, has formalized a lease agreement with Rockland Harbor Park LLC to occupy 12 Water Street, according to a press release.

"It's extraordinary news for Rockland and the whole region," said Bob Hastings, chief executive officer of the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday. "These are terrific jobs. MBNA left behind a legacy of great real estate and trained workers."

That legacy, combined with Pine Tree Zone benefits, is what brought Boston Financial to Rockland and athenahealth to Belfast, Hastings said.

The power of a Pine Tree Zone gives the state the ability to attract businesses from Massachusetts and other states and to keep businesses here, Hastings said, noting that later on Tuesday the Midcoast Pine Tree Zone Council was expected to approve Rockland-based Steel Pro for a Pine Tree Zone designation.

"It's certainly been difficult for a couple of months keeping focused on making the deal happen," City Manager Tom Hall said Tuesday. "Certainly, it's great news for the city."

"Putting the building back into productive use for its originally intended use is remarkable," he said.

Also remarkable is the strength of Boston Financial, he said, noting it has a longstanding reputation as a proven business.

Boston Financial, with headquarters in Quincy, Mass., currently employs 3,000 associates across its locations in Quincy, Kansas City, Mo., and Lawrence, Kan. Boston Financial is expected to hire 100 employees for the Rockland facility in 2008.

In two years, Boston Financial expects to employ 250 people, according to Matt Jacobson, president of Maine & Company.

“Boston Financial had specific needs for a facility and a trained work force; we were able to provide both in Rockland,” said Jacobson. “The building once housed MBNA and much of that company’s highly trained and competent work force remains in the area. It was a good fit for Boston Financial.”

Jacobson’s nonprofit corporation, Maine & Company, leveraged local and state incentives and provided site location services and work-force analysis data to Boston Financial.

“Rockland became a ‘short-list’ contender when Boston Financial began looking for an additional location for expansion,” said Jacobson. “We worked closely with state economic leaders and regional economic groups to provide an incentive package to locate Boston Financial in the Midcoast region.”

“Our new site aligns with our long-term growth strategy while maintaining our commitment to the Boston, Kansas City and Lawrence areas,” said Terry Metzger, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Boston Financial. “We’re excited about our new site in Maine, and the opportunity to build upon our position as an industry leader.”

“This is a great success story for the state; Pine Tree Zone incentives provided an attractive location package to Boston Financial,” said Gov. John Baldacci. “The Pine Tree Zone economic program is, once again, creating more jobs in the state of Maine. This decision by Boston Financial also speaks to the quality of the state's work force and our aggressive pursuit of jobs."

“Maine continues to attract industry leaders with our ability to provide key incentives for growing businesses and our available work force,” said John Richardson, commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development. “We are proud Boston Financial selected Rockland as a home for its new facility and we welcome the company to the state.”

Boston Financial services 116 clients representing in excess of 25 million accounts and 6,800 funds. According to the 2008 Mutual Fund Service Guide, Boston Financial has the largest shareholder account base of any third party service provider in the industry.

Boston Financial will lease the entire facility at Rockland Harbor Park, which is more than 70,000 square feet.

For general information, go to the career section at bostonfinancial.com. To apply for a position, submit a resume and cover letter via e-mail at rocklandjobs@bostonfinancial.com.

For 35 years, Boston Financial Data Services has provided investor and intermediary services to the financial marketplace. Boston Financial was founded in 1973 as a partnership between two of the leading forces in the mutual fund business - DST Systems Inc. of Kansas City, Mo., and State Street Corporation of Boston, Mass. For more information, go to bostonfinancial.com.

Maine & Company is a private, nonprofit corporation that provides free and confidential site selection assistance to companies considering Maine as a business location. Maine & Company services include real estate site searches, data collection and analysis, incentive identification and valuation, and site visit coordination.