Medford OKs $40M Investment In Old Whole Foods Bakery Site

MEDFORD, MA — The City Council voted Tuesday to approve a tax increment financing agreement for Monogram Gourmet Foods LLC. The company plans to invest $40 million to refurbish the former Whole Foods Bakery site on Middlesex Avenue and open its own facility. The business will create 250 new jobs, many of which could be filled by former bakery employees who were laid off when the site closed last year.

The vote in favor of the Monogram proposal was 7-0.

Jeff Modica, vice president of warehousing and logistics for Monogram, told the City Council Dec. 1 the company's decision to open in Medford would be contingent on the award of a tax increment financing (TIF) agreement. The company already has facilities in Wilmington and eyed Medford for a USDA bakery, which Modica said presents a rare opportunity.

"There aren't many of them in the United States. This allows us to do unique products with meats and proteins that aren't available in an FDA facility," Modica said, citing a product like Dunkin's ham and cheese croissant as an example of something that could be made at a USDA bakery.

TIF agreements are designed to encourage redevelopment. The tax incentive is only realized by the developer if the investment is made, and there is an incremental difference in the value of the property.

In Medford, this will be a 10-year agreement. Monogram will receive a dwindling percent exemption over the years, with the property being taxed at the regular value once the agreement expires.

The TIF can be voided if the conditions of Mongram's agreement with the city are not met.

Medford would have seen about $1.4 million in real estate and personal property taxes from 2022 to 2031 on a vacant property at the site. That will rise to a little over $4 million once Monogram develops the site, after about $668,000 in tax exemptions for the company.

The proposal initially went before the City Council Dec. 1, with many councilors being on board in theory but wanting more community input. Councilor Zac Bears worried about potentially losing leverage with other businesses looking to come to Medford.

"I do have some concerns that this sets a bad precedent, considering we are a pretty high demand community, our property values are growing," Bears said. Monogram is projecting $750 million in net revenue this year, and Bears wondered if the exemption is necessary for a company of that size.

But Alicia Hunt, Medford's acting director of Community Development, said the city should seize the opportunity to bring jobs back to the site. Monogram has signed a letter of intent to lease the property, which is subject to final financing and any state or local incentives.

"One of the things we have been looking to do is bring in more commercial entities that bring jobs with them," Hunt said. "And this business is bringing jobs. I don't have another business knocking on the door saying we can give you jobs."

Monogram hopes to rehire area residents who were laid off by Whole Foods.

"We didn't make a big deal of it when Whole Foods closed last winter, but they did close, and all those people were laid off," Hunt said.

The City Council held a public meeting on the proposal Dec. 8, during which it was unanimously approved.