Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1194807
www.wbjournal.com • Worcester Business Journal • 2 020 Economic Forecast 15 Grow your small business today with a great interest rate! At Webster Five, we are known for the fast, flexible and hassle-free loans your business needs to reach its full potential. PREPARING FOR GROWTH. SEEKING A TRUSTED LENDER. Visit web5.com/business-loans or call 800.696.9401 WEBSTER • DUDLEY • OXFORD • AUBURN • WORCESTER • SHREWSBURY Member FDIC Member DIF NMLS #523049 *Rate effective 10/01/2019. The prime rate is the rate published in the WSJ. The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is prime minus 1.50% for the first year on lines of credit and term loans. After the first year, the rate on lines of credit adjusts to prime + 2.00%, and term loans will adjust to a fixed rate to be determined at that time. Ask us for details. Offer can be withdrawn at any time. IF THIS IS YOU, THEN THIS IS YOUR BANK. 1.50% BELOW PRIME * Auburn IndustrIAl development CorporAtIon www.aidc.com FIRST FLOOR OF MODERN, TWO-STORY BUILDING Conveniently Located Near Rte. 146, I-290, I-190, I-395, I-495 and the Mass. Turnpike BRIGhT, AIRY SpACE /hIGh-SpEED DATA INFRASTRUCTURE / RENOvATED LOBBY / AMpLE pARkING / pRIvATE OFFICES AND CONFERENCE ROOM / NEAR ShOppING AND RESTAURANTS / A must see! SChEDULE A SITE vISIT TODAY. 978.365.4585 or rentals@aidc.com 4 8 S W O R D S T R E E T , A U B U R N , M A 5,000 – 10,000 SQ. FT. pRIME OFFICE SpACE AvAILABLE NOW! >> Fletcher playing high-stakes game with Worcester Public Market A new amenity hoping to draw crowds from across Central Massachusetts is coming to Worcester's Canal District. No, not Polar Park and the Pawtucket Red Sox. Much sooner than that, the Worcester Public Market will bring a different draw cities are increasingly seeing open in their neighborhoods. Like the new ballpark, the market is a bet more people can be drawn to the neighborhood, in turn increasing the Canal District's density and vitality. "Everyone's been talking about hav- ing a marketplace," said Allen Fletcher, the developer of the market and 48 apartment units being built above it. "It's a huge risk. These things are not slam dunks." The Canal District is growing but still has few large employers for lunch- time crowds and few residents – as well as little disposable income. More than one out of three Canal District resi- dents live below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That will force the market to rely on visitors from outside the neighborhood, a factor itself complicated by a major construction overhaul of Kelley Square. "There's a reason why no one's done this before," Fletcher said, predicting the market will either become the city's premiere shopping destination along with adjacent Crompton Place or become a failure. Food halls, which feature a mix of often local vendors are a major trend in food and retail. Food halls now number roughly 250 nationally, accord- ing to the real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. The total could hit or surpass 300 by year end. By then, the food hall market will have tripled in size in just five years. Allen Fletcher, developer of the Worcester Public Market W P H O T O / G R A N T W E L K E R