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Biotech Giant Vertex Breaks Ground On Fan Pier Complex

BOSTON (CBS/AP) - Gov. Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino have officially welcomed biotech giant Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. to South Boston.

They attended the groundbreaking for the company's new headquarters at Fan Pier Wednesday.

It's one of the biggest real estate deals in the city's history.

Vertex's move from Cambridge boosts Menino's plan to create an "Innovation District," featuring high tech companies that can attract young workers and new business.

In May, Vertex got regulatory approval for a hepatitis C treatment that the company believes can be a best-selling drug, clearing the way for the move and Wednesday's groundbreaking.

Fan Pier has seen recent growth after struggling for decades amid stalled development proposals.

Plans call for an eight-building complex there.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports

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Vertex says it will lease 1.1 million square feet of office and lab space at two of the buildings.

"It's the tipping point for Fan Pier and this 1,000-plus acres of the seaport-innovation district. Not only 1,000-plus jobs, but it also is going to have a multiplier impact," Paul Guzzi, the head of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.

That mean more businesses are expected to come to this part of the city, which not too long ago was nothing more than parking lots.

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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