County loans Towson company $700,000
Money will help keep VIP software company in Towson Commons
Virginia Terhune
Posted 7/11/08
The County Council on July 7 approved a conditional loan of $700,000 to the redevelopers of the Towson Commons building to help keep the building’s main tenant, the VIPS software company, in Towson.
The loan, a mix of county and state funds, will convert to a grant if VIPS hires 25 more people by the end of 2009 and does not drop below its present level of 447 employees before the end of its 7-year lease, according to the council.
VIPS develops software that manages claims, care, risk and anti-fraud activities for government agencies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in Woodlawn and health care companies such as CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in Owings Mills.
The company occupies nearly half the office space in the 10-story Towson Commons building at York Road and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Western Development Corp., of Washington, is redeveloping the site, which also contains retail space and movie theaters, in conjunction with an adjacent six-story office building at 40 W. Chesapeake Ave.
Western Development must contribute $900,000 as part of spending at least $1.6 million on renovations that will add 10,000 square feet to VIPS current 105,000 square feet, according to loan conditions.
Work already has started and should be finished by next spring, according to the council.
VIPS is in the process of being sold by its parent company, HLTH Corp. of Elmwood Park, N.J., to General Dynamics Information Technology, of Fairfax, Va., for $225 million in cash, according to a June 3 news release.
The company intends to stay in Towson after the sale, according to the council.
The loan, a mix of county and state funds, will convert to a grant if VIPS hires 25 more people by the end of 2009 and does not drop below its present level of 447 employees before the end of its 7-year lease, according to the council.
VIPS develops software that manages claims, care, risk and anti-fraud activities for government agencies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in Woodlawn and health care companies such as CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in Owings Mills.
The company occupies nearly half the office space in the 10-story Towson Commons building at York Road and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Western Development Corp., of Washington, is redeveloping the site, which also contains retail space and movie theaters, in conjunction with an adjacent six-story office building at 40 W. Chesapeake Ave.
Western Development must contribute $900,000 as part of spending at least $1.6 million on renovations that will add 10,000 square feet to VIPS current 105,000 square feet, according to loan conditions.
Work already has started and should be finished by next spring, according to the council.
VIPS is in the process of being sold by its parent company, HLTH Corp. of Elmwood Park, N.J., to General Dynamics Information Technology, of Fairfax, Va., for $225 million in cash, according to a June 3 news release.
The company intends to stay in Towson after the sale, according to the council.
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