Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 3, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 21 Central Mass. needs Opportunity Zone investments V I E W P O I N T E D I T O R I A L I f a developer was to pick an underutilized Worcester commercial property to revitalize and make his or her mark on the city, the 24-story Worcester Plaza would be a good choice. e glass tower office building is tied for the tallest building in the city, has an adjoining parking garage, and sits in the heart of a redeveloping downtown. While it never lost its iconic stature, years of minimal upkeep and deferred maintenance have led to a good amount of tenant churn. While it won't be cheap to bring back the building's original luster, the developer able to pull off the revitalization would be credited for making a premier office property out of a tired, old building. David Greaney, president of Boston firm Synergy Investments, has his eyes on that prize, thanks in part to a three-year-old federal program called Opportunity Zones. Greaney bought the Glass Tower in October for $16.5 million with the express purpose of taking advantage of the Opportunity Zone program, and if he makes enough improvements and holds onto the building for long enough, his company can reap significant tax incentives. Under the federal Opportunity Zones program, which was enacted into law in 2017, developers can defer paying federal taxes on money invested in an Opportunity Zone property. If they hold onto the investment for five years; they receive a 10% tax break, and for seven years the break is 15%. Aer 10 years, the investors can forgo taxes on the increased value of the property. Central Massachusetts has 24 designated Opportunity Zones, which were chosen by the Gov. Charlie Baker Administration and certified by the U.S. Treasury. While the Opportunity Zone program may be complex, the end result is Greaney will only pay a fraction in taxes on the $16.5 million invested into the Glass Tower, as well as on the increased value of the skyscraper as he makes improvements. On the flip side, the City of Worcester will see an aging 46-year-old building transformed back into a premier commercial property. Because the Opportunity Zone program has no reporting requirements to local governments, the only other known development taking advantage of the tax benefits is the 112-unit Gateway Village apartment complex in Fitchburg, which is being built on a vacant lot on Main and Day streets by Fitchburg developer William Krikorian. While the program has come under fire nationally for simply being an avenue for the well- heeled to avoid paying taxes on the money they make – including criticism from Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), one of the two main authors of the law – we benefit more from looking at the ground-level realities of the program's implementation here in Central Massachusetts. Opportunity Zones are another way to incentivize real estate investments in communities like Worcester and Fitchburg, where the cost of new construction or major renovations are oen harder to justify, based on prevailing rents. So, setting aside the argument over who actually benefits more – the investor or the city where the development takes place – it appears a nice upside is there for both parties. The Worcester Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Please send submissions to Brad Kane, editor, at bkane@wbjournal.com. A T H O U SA N D WO R D S B Y D O N L A N D G R E N W Women leaders start as girls W hen I delivered my TEDxNatick talk last year, there was a genuine moment of clarity for most who viewed it. e entitled "Today's Girls are Tomorrow's Leaders" shines a light on a critical focal point we may be overlooking when grappling with how to increase the number of women in leadership positions: We need to start with 10-year-old girls. To be fair, more women are in key leadership positions today than ever before. Yet, aer decades of research and getting women to lean in to leadership, how is it that, women in senior roles in corporate America have increased 1% in the past 10 years – just 1 percent in a decade! At the current rate of change, it will take until 2059 for women to earn the same as men for doing the same job. And it's even bleaker for women of color. at means women as a whole will be underpaid for at least the next 40 years! We can't wait that long! What are we missing? In my view, we focus (rightly so) on encouraging women to climb the ladder of success … but we forget those women started as girls. We need to get girls to the bottom rung of that ladder and make sure it is strong enough to hold them as they climb. Girls need to take the first step of that steep climb when they are 10 years old. I've witnessed firsthand the impactful results of intervening when girls are 10. "Stronger, Smarter, Bolder: Girls Take the Lead" is the newly released report from Girls Inc., which takes a comprehensive look at ensuring girls are prepared to succeed in leadership roles in all professional fields and their communities. e report states girls who participate in the Girls Inc. experience have an advantage over their peers in more than 20 key areas! Following the rigorous comparison study, Girls Inc. recommends four crucial supports to allow girls to realize their potential: • e right relationships • Encouragement to develop and use their voices • A positive self-image • Intellectual confidence We should not diminish or stop empowering women to climb the ladder of success, but we need to start earlier in getting girls to that ladder! Imagine, if girls step on the first rung of that ladder with confidence to realize their potential, maybe we won't have to wait 40 years. Victoria Waterman is the CEO at Girls Inc. of Worcester and a TEDxNatick speaker. BY VICTORIA WATERMAN Special to the Worcester Business Journal Victoria Waterman W

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