Vetter’s $163 million expansion plan moves forward in Des Plaines

A German pharmaceutical company’s $163 million plan to expand its facility in Des Plaines got a tentative go-ahead from the city council Monday.

Vetter intends to construct a roughly 158,000-square-foot manufacturing and office building on its nearly 18-acre campus at 10 W. Algonquin Road. Three existing but sparsely used Vetter buildings elsewhere on the property will remain, said Jeff Rogers, the city’s community and economic development director.

The development plan needs two affirmative votes from the city council, and it got the first one Monday. The second vote could happen April 7.

The council also overwhelmingly supported a sought-after reduction of the property’s assessment rate by the Cook County Board. Only one vote was needed to make that recommendation.

If approved by the county board, the rate change will be applied only to the portion of the property where the new building will be constructed, Rogers said. It will cut the property's annual tax bill by about $3.7 million for the 12-year life of the deal, city documents show.

Vetter representatives have said the expansion project isn’t financially feasible without the tax break.

Vetter fills and packages medical syringes, cartridges and vials. In addition to the Des Plaines campus, it has a facility in Skokie that features a manufacturing center, laboratories and other departments.

The Des Plaines campus is on the northwest corner of Algonquin and Mount Prospect roads, in the 8th Ward. The company purchased the site in 2017 and began improvements, promising hundreds of new jobs once a factory and other facilities were completed. Construction was delayed, however, and a development agreement with the city expired.

Last year, though, Vetter announced it was ready to move forward. The company plans to move workers from Skokie to Des Plaines and create at least 50 full-time positions within four years, Rogers said.

Several aldermen spoke in favor of the project Monday. The 4th Ward’s Dick Sayad thanked Vetter representatives in the audience for maintaining the property for so many years even though the expansion plans had been on hold.

Mayor Andrew Goczkowski welcomed the Vetter team, too. “We’re glad to have you come and call Des Plaines home,” he said.

The 5th Ward’s Carla Brookman was the only alderman to oppose the development plan. She complained that the city had an opportunity to buy the land and build a municipal complex there before Vetter snatched it up, and she insisted the factory isn’t the best use of the property.

Brookman also expressed concern about how the proposed facility would affect the homeowners who live near the property. Earlier, however, 8th Ward Alderman Mike Charewicz praised the company’s plan to use fences to shield those neighbors from noise.

Brookman voted against the proposed tax break, too, noting Vetter is an international company with more than $1 billion in annual revenue and thousands of employees.

“It’s hard to believe that a company of this size … can’t afford to pay their own property tax bill,” she said.

Brookman erroneously said taxpayers would have to pay more taxes if Vetter gets a tax break. Second Ward Alderman Colt Moylan, who oversees community development issues for the council, said that isn’t true.

In response, Brookman said, “Well, someone’s picking it up.”

A video of Monday’s meeting is available at desplainesil.gov.