The New York-based Publicis Healthcare Communications Group has inked a 10-year lease agreement that will allow the global public relations and marketing agency to move more than 200 jobs to Lower Makefield.

This summer, Publicis will inhabit the brand new, four-story, LEED-certified office building on Floral Vale Boulevard adjacent to the Lower Makefield Corporate Center and a stone's throw from I-95.

"We completed it in late 2009 and by then we were already in negotiations with Publicis," said Stephen Spaeder, president of BPG Development Co. L.P., which developed the property. "Now they've signed a lease to be the lead tenant."

Publicis will occupy 55,000 square feet of office space - more than 60 percent of the 90,000 square feet available.

"We like (tenants) big and small, but we're happy to make such a nice-sized transaction to kick off that site," Spaeder said.

Efforts to reach officials at Publicis, a division of the Paris-based public relations giant Publicis Groupe S.A., were unsuccessful Monday.

Congressman Patrick Murphy, D-8, said Publicis was originally targeting New Jersey for the office, not Lower Makefield. Murphy was part of a months' long effort to woo the company, with help from state Rep. Steve Santarsiero, D-31, the governor's action team, the Bucks County Economic Development Corp. and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

The result was an incentive plan worth $620,000 from the DCED. Department spokesman Luke Webber said Publicis will get a $300,000 opportunity grant, $270,000 in the form of a job creation tax credit and $50,000 in job training funds.

In return, Publicis must create 90 full-time Pennsylvania jobs, retain another 150 from other Pennsylvania locations and add 80 part-time positions. Publicis should get the 90 positions by moving employees out of a location in New Jersey and into Bucks County, officials said.

"They're taking three sites and they are consolidating them to one location," said Santarsiero. "These are over 200 good-paying jobs with an average salary of about $90,000."

In addition to the New Jersey location, he said Publicis would move staff from a location in Blue Bell, Montgomery County, and from subsidiary Saatchi & Saatchi Healthcare Innovations in Newtown.

"Some of the jobs being relocations, there may be openings because some may decide not to move," Santarsiero said.

The Publicis Healthcare Communications Group provides professional and direct-to-consumer advertising, sales and marketing development, public relations, branding and consulting to clients in the health care and pharmaceutical industries.

Santarsiero said this is a field that is ripe for future growth.

Luring Publicis away from New Jersey was a big win for Pennsylvania, officials said. Murphy said that in addition to the financial incentives, he, Santarseiro and others worked to show Publicis officials the upside of moving to Bucks County.

The Publicis Healthcare Communications Group's parent company - Publicis Groupe - is the world's third largest communications group and the second largest media agency with activities spanning 104 countries on five continents. It employs 45,000 people.

Murphy represents the residents of Bucks County, some districts of Abington, Upper Dublin and Upper Moreland in Montgomery County and two wards in Philadelphia. Santarsiero represents Lower Makefield, Yardley, Newtown, Newtown Township and District 2 of Upper Makefield.