Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 15, 2019 | Worcester Business Journal 21 Redevelop the Midtown Mall, not the tenants The business community needs to teach financial literacy V I E W P O I N T E D I T O R I A LS T he Worcester Redevelopment Au- thority has been far from subtle this spring with Dean Marcus, owner of the Midtown Mall in downtown, about its plans to seize his property via eminent domain and give it to a new develop- er if he doesn't start making significant invest- ments in the property. Unless Marcus somehow completely reverses course aer decades of almost no upgrades, we see the WRA getting that acquisition process in full swing by summer's end. Generally seen as a last resort option, the WRA's position reflects decades of frustration with the mall's lack of reinvestment. As part of his appeal to keep the property, Marcus has reasoned his lack of investments has kept rents low for many minority-owned startup or small businesses primarily serving lower-in- come clients. Whether or not this strategy was his intention or just a side effect of spending so little to improve the property, his statement rings true. During the economic downturn 10 years ago, pre- cious little retail activity occurred downtown, and the building was among the few places with real foot traffic. Now with new investments and atten- tion being poured into other downtown prop- erties, the city is trying to keep that momentum going by shoring up highly visible, weak prop- erties. However, the outcome should not be the disenfranchisement of these small firms, as they add to the diverse mix of offerings in the city. Worcester City Councilors, including Candy Me- ro-Carlson, Gorge Russell and Sarai Rivera, have A bi-annual study of high school financial literacy by Champlain College of Vermont has given Massachusetts a grade of "F" when it comes to educating our public high school students on money matters. In 2017, the latest year the study was conducted, our state was one of 11, nationwide, branded with that scarlet letter. In fact, Massachusetts has earned a failing grade in teaching financial literacy to our high school students for three studies in a row, going all the way back to 2013. Not only is this a failure of our education system, it's a failure of our business community. Failing businesses Companies large and small depend on employees to be financially literate – both at work and at home – in order to contribute to their communities. Young people who can't balance a checkbook or manage their credit grow into older people who live paycheck to paycheck, declare bankruptcy over credit card debt, or lose their homes to foreclosure. Similarly, businesses can't operate, hire employees or pay salaries when they are led by people who don't know how to manage profit & loss, benefits, and inventory. When businesses fail – or don't get started in the first place – that hurts our economy. It eventually makes us a place where people can't find jobs, don't want to live, and abandon for the call of opportunity elsewhere. We simply can't afford to keep churning out, year aer year, students who don't know the basics of effective money management. Financial-planning programs Rollstone Bank & Trust's series of community and youth-focused programs are working on turning that "F" into an "A." rough partnerships with community organizations, public libraries and local school districts, our educational seminars (all free of charge) are inspiring confidence and ability in our young people on managing money. We're not just focused on kids: our wealth management division, led by Senior Vice President Melissa Maranda, offers training on basic investing, social security and retirement planning for everyone who wants to learn. We urge other businesses to support our educators in helping our young people learn about money: How to count it, save it, and yes, spend it – wisely. If learning multiplication tables and state capitals needs to be everyone's job, then so should financial literacy. Martin F. Connors, Jr. is president & CEO of Rollstone Bank & Trust in Worcester. BY MARTIN F. CONNORS, JR. Special to the Worcester Business Journal Martin F. Connors, Jr. The Worcester Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Please send submissions to Brad Kane, editor, at bkane@wbjournal.com. expressed concern about the fate of the Midtown Mall business tenants. ey should have a place to grow and prosper, and not be collateral damage because of their landlord's lack of investment. e City Council should hold city officials to account for their promises to help the Midtown Mall businesses with relocation assistance, which must include financial support for their moving expenses and to soen any large monthly rent increases. With more than $100 million being poured into the Mercantile Center next door and the Grid District on the other side of Worcester Common, it would be detrimental to the city's primary commercial neighborhood to have a facility with crumbling interiors and worn out floors in the heart of downtown. If Marcus can't or won't make necessary improvements, then somebody else should. Ideally, eminent domain wouldn't be necessary; and as long as Marcus is adequately compensated, the WRA is right in spurring invest- ment with a new developer. Redevelopment is about bringing in new money to make a property, a neighborhood or a city a more desirable place to live, work and visit. One of the vexing twists of development success is neighborhoods get more expensive and some can't afford the increased cost. Worcester is a still a low-cost market, and while commercial values are increasing, full-on gentrification is still a ways off. But as the momentum continues, the city needs to give those businesses who have hung in there for the long term a chance to thrive. W WO R D F R O M T H E W E B Tweets of the week "We love to see our clients growing! Congrats to @masybioservices, a dynamic company in #CentralMass serving #pharmaceutical, #biotech and medical device industries around the world." - MassDevelopment (@massdev), April 3, on a WBJ story about Pepperell biorepository company Masy Bi- oServices acquiring a New Jersey calibration provider "Another great article in the impact of the #MealsOnWheels programs - thank you @ WBJournal for highlighting the work of @ ESWAorg and their elder care partners @ masscoa @MassHomeCare" - Lisa Gurgone (@lgurgone), April 2, on a Central Mass. HEALTH story about new initiatives to fight loneliness in seniors Facebook feedback "Eminent domain... the equivalent of governmental bullying." - Michael Scully, April 6, on a WBJ story about the Worcester Redevelopment Authority giving the owner of Midtown Mall 30 days to avoid an eminent domain process "In 2009-2010 he kept my car for 9 months! I'm happy that they're bringing him down!" - Mayra Dos Reis, April 7, on a WBJ story about the owner of Worcester auto body shop Accurate Collision, Inc. being indicted on fraud charges W

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