Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 21, 2019 | Worcester Business Journal 9 Join the Worcester Business Journal for a NEW YEAR'S NETWORKING PARTY and AWARDS CELEBRATION! Register today and don't miss this opportunity to mix and mingle with the region's Best Of Business! The Best Of Business Awards event that is! Wednesday January 23, 2019 Beechwood Hotel, Worcester 5:00 – 7:00PM • Cost: $35 Pre-registration is required. www.wbjournal.com/BOBawards Start the New Year off with BOB! BOB A W A R D S B E S T O F B U S I N E S S REGISTER TODAY! Presenting Sponsor Central Mass. opportunity zones Two dozen new federal opportunity zones exist in 11 Central Massachusetts communities: Zone Median Educational Unemployment Households Zone location population household income attainment rate in poverty Worcester (downtown) 2,720 $25,036 30% 17% 38% Worcester (Gold Star Boulevard) 3,430 $46,212 32% 10% 26% Worcester (Route 20) 4,610 $62,886 42% 0% 8% Worcester (Main South) 3,573 $30,096 13% 10% 43% Worcester (Canal District) 2,002 $30,096 22% 7% 35% Worcester (Main Middle) 4,388 $23,036 9% 16% 42% Athol (Silver Lake Street) 3,680 $46,979 17% 7% 19% Athol (Main Street) 4,410 $44,408 14% 16% 16% Clinton (Main Street) 2,636 $51,250 24% 4% 14% Clinton (Water Street) 3,400 $50,795 28% 8% 21% Gardner (Pleasant Street) 3,968 $34,839 8% 9% 21% Gardner (Washington Street) 2,052 $32,300 14% 11% 14% Fitchburg (Water Street) 6,809 $53,793 11% 12% 20% Fitchburg (Main Street) 1,537 $17,039 12% 7% 50% Framingham (Irving Street) 3,269 $28,472 22% 5% 38% Framingham (Beaver Street) 5,645 $35,724 15% 12% 26% Leominster (Mechanic Street) 2,733 $46,296 17% 11% 18% Leominster (Mill Street) 4,603 $34,120 21% 10% 22% Marlborough (West Main Street) 8,084 $60,558 33% 3% 10% Marlborough (Farm Road) 6,339 $64,896 33% 3% 5% Southbridge (Worcester Street) 4,441 $50,558 15% 7% 16% Southbridge (Main Street) 2,643 $33,778 8% 7% 21% Spencer (town center) 5,790 $46,652 14% 7% 19% Webster (town center) 3,788 $36,216 16% 8% 16% Source: State of Massachusetts, ESRI (households in poverty) The capital gains benefits won't make projects in opportunity zones economi- cally viable if they wouldn't have been otherwise, said Karen Kelleher, the executive director of the Boston offices of the community investment group Local Initiatives Support Corporation. "This is more like the icing on the cake of an investment that has your equity at risk," Kelleher said. But for officials in places like Clinton, Spencer or Webster, which haven't seen investment in new development like larger communities or those closer to Boston have, the new federal program is a chance for new development offi- cials don't want to pass up. Four in 10 Clinton residents live in one of the town's two opportunity zones. Philip Duffy, Clinton's communi- ty and economic development director, said he's expecting the program might appeal most to those looking to build housing, where a return on investment might be longer, allowing for a larger capital gains reduction. Duffy worries large-scale investment will still find its way to places in or directly outside Boston, where there's a higher upside than in towns like Clinton, with any project likely to be far smaller in scale. "Opportunity zone funding is not likely to make a project happen if it wasn't already going to happen," Duffy said. "It is a question of what kind of investment we'll see." W

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