Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 4, 2019 | Worcester Business Journal 3 Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi-weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special issues in May, September, October, and December by New England Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $54.95. For more information, please email wbjournal@ cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com A division of: Worcester Business Journal WBJ Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com News Editor, Grant Welker, gwelker@wbjournal.com (Real estate, higher education, health care) Staff Writer Zachary Comeau, zcomeau@wbjournal.com (Manufacturing) Contributors Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon, Sarah Connell Sanders, Sam Bonacci Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Senior Special Accounts Manager Mary Lynn Bosiak, mlbosiak@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Distribution and Database Coordinator A Guide to STUFF, a publication of New England Business Media Patty Harris, pharris@nebusinessmedia.com COO, Mary Rogers, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Manager, Valerie Clark, vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel, rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com Human Resources, Jill Coran, jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Joseph Zwiebel jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com O ne of the more startling discoveries in our annual Fact Book: Doing Business in Central Mass. is how much assessed property values have increased since 2013. In Greater Worcester, the combined total property value is up 24%. MetroWest is even higher at 29%. Blackstone Valley has a 23% increase, while North County and Central Mass. South have 21% and 19%, respectively. In all, the value of all the property in Central Mass. now sits at $163 billion. In 2017, that number was $145 billion. e purpose of our Fact Book is to provide you with statistics and stories meant to paint a picture of what it is like to do business in Central Massachusetts (as the title implies). e numbers focus on concerns important to businesses, like tax rates, wages and population growth. e stories tend to be more of the on-the- ground variety, examining individual play- ers or issues in our regions and industries. e remarkable increase in property values tells three higher-elevation stories: 1) e Central Mass. real estate market is nearing its pre-Great Recession levels; 2) More demand is being placed on the property in the region; 3) More wealth is moving in, as people with deeper pockets buy the higher-valued land and buildings. ese macro trends have on-the-ground consequences, particularly: Rising rents and leases, and home and commercial space affordability is becoming a larger issue. Downtown Framingham alone has more than 700 units coming online, which replaced older buildings, where rents run as high as $3,575 for a three-bedroom unit. While it is largely a good sign for the Central Massachusetts economy to have outsiders looking to invest in and improve properties in Worcester and elsewhere, those investments come at a cost. at in- cludes people and businesses having to pay more in rent – putting downward pressure on their expendable incomes and bottom lines – or simply move out. In Worcester's Canal District, where the city is building a $101-million stadium to accommodate the minor league baseball team Pawtucket Red Sox when they move to the neighborhood in 2021, smaller businesses like an auto repair shop and a boutique retailer have al- ready had to move out to make way for the stadium, and increasing leases and tenant preference elsewhere in the Canal District have forced others to close or move, such I N T H I S I S S U E as the Dive Bar. A growing economy is much better than the alternative, as is a real estate market with an increasing value. But as the new replaces the old, it is important to reflect on everything lost, so we might judge what is new by the added value it provides. - Brad Kane, editor Out with the old, in with the new What it is like to do business in the Central Mass. regions • Greater Worcester ............................................................ 4 • MetroWest .......................................................................... 8 • North County ................................................................... 12 • Blackstone Valley............................................................. 16 • Central Mass. South ........................................................ 20 Assets Central Massachusetts has to offer • Workforce ......................................................................... 30 • Infrastructure ................................................................... 32 • Incubators ........................................................................ 34 The core industries of Central Massachusetts • Manufacturing ......................................................................... 36 • Health care ............................................................................... 38 • Higher education .................................................................... 40 Resources for Central Mass. businesses ............................. 42 4 36 Royalston Ashby Pepperell Gardner Fitchburg Lunenburg Shirley Groton Ayer Acton Phillipston Princeton Sudbury Wayland Holden Oakham New Braintree Hardwick North Brookfield East Brookfield Brookfield Charlton Southbridge Dudley Littleton Harvard Ashburnham Templeton Sturbridge Winchendon Berlin Hudson Leominster Clinton Athol West Brookfield Barre Paxton Spencer Leicester Auburn 2 395 Worcester West Boylston Boylston Sutton Northbridge Grafton Millbury Medway Hopedale Mendon Blackstone Bellingham Douglas Uxbridge Webster Holliston Hopkinton Oxford Franklin Upton Natick Sherborn Millis Ashland Southborough Framingham Westborough Northborough Shrewsbury Bolton Lancaster Sterling Maynard Rutland Hubbardston Boxborough Devens Marlborough Petersham Millville T T T T T T T Townsend 190 84 190 290 290 90 90 90 495 495 495 2 Westminster T T 117 117 12 12 12 9 9 9 9 20 20 20 20 122 122 122 122 146 12 Holliston P a n A m R a il w ays P & W R ail w a y s P&W CSX CSX P&W P&W CSX CSX CSX CSX Pan A m Railways N E W H A M P S H I R E C O N N E C T I C U T R H O D E I S L A N D Quabbin Reservoir Wachusett Reservoir 146 122 Stow 32 On the cover: The Worcester Common and its surrounding buildings Photo | TMS Aerial Solutions FB

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