Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | August 3, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 5 B R I E FS Black Lives Matter mural in Worcester is complete A Black Lives Matter street mural planned near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Major Taylor Boulevard in downtown Worcester was completed in Jly. e art project, which used no tax dollars, ultimately raised $20,000. e letters and images inside the letters were designed by 16 lead artists and more than 100 people volunteered to paint. Tegra pays $16M for Franklin expansion Medical device manufacturer Tegra Medical has paid $16.4 million for a 120,000-square-foot building across the street from its Franklin headquarters. e expansion will increase the company's overall square footage by more than 53%. e new Franklin space, located at 16 Forge Parkway, will require little renovation and will provide Tegra's quick wire and tubing business with its own dedicated space. e sale closed June 19. e nearly 10-acre site was last assessed by the Town of Franklin at nearly $7.9 million. Unum leaving Worcester Insurance company Unum, headquartered in Chattanooga, Tenn., will close its Worcester office at CitySquare and direct its 400 employees to permanently work from home. Media relations manager Kelly Spencer said the decision was not spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, she said, the decision was prompted by a significantly decreased headcount in the company's Worcester office, and the belief transitioning to a work-from-home model would increase Unum's business resiliency. When the company moved into its Worcester office, Spencer said there were between 650 and 700 people working there. Now, there are roughly 400. Mass. has worst U.S. unemployment rate e Mass. unemployment rate in June rose to 17.4%, the worst in the nation, according to federal data. at sets a new unemployment record for the state since such record-keeping began. e rate — up from 14.7% in May — comes as new unemployment claims have been slowly trending downward. BJ's names new chief digital officer BJ's Wholesale Club of Westborough has named Monica Schwartz as the company's new senior vice president and chief digital officer. Most recently, Schwartz worked as vice president of online merchandising at Home Depot, head- quartered in Georgia. Schwartz will officially assume her new role on Aug. 3, and she will be responsible for strategic leadership of digital business. First marijuana dispensary opens in Shrewsbury Illinois cannabis company PharmaCann Inc. opened an adult-use marijuana dispensary at 939 Boston Turnpike in Shrewsbury on July 28, the town's first marijuana dispensary. e dispensary will do business as Verilife, the name the Illinois company uses for its adult retail operations. EcoTarium will close through fall and winter e Worcester science museum EcoTarium is planning for what it termed an extended closure through fall and winter, citing a 90% attendance drop due to the coronavirus pandemic. e museum will reduce its staffing. Monica Schwartz, BJ's chief digital officer T H E T I C K E R $10 million Money raised by the Worcester Together Fund since the coronavirus pandemic started, in order to help nonprofits navigate the financial impact Source: Worcester Together Fund 143 Greater Worcester businesses reported by the online review website Yelp to have permanently closed since the 2020 economic recession started Source: Yelp 90% Central Mass. residents who say they always wear masks when they can't socially distance Source: Dynata and The New York Times 22% Decrease in the number of Worcester single-family home sales in June vs. June 2019 Sources: The Warren Group Landlords should be allowed to resume evictions F L AS H P O L L Should Gov. Baker have extended the Massachusetts eviction and foreclosure moratorium? Evictions and foreclosures will be largely prohibited until Oct. 17 under an extension of a temporary moratorium renewed by Gov. Charlie Baker in July. The ban is intended to protect renters and homeowners who are suffering financially because of the coronavirus pandemic, but some landlords say the ban is hurting them financially in return. When polled online, the majority of WBJ readers said the moratorium should not have been extended. COMMENTS: "How about a relief program for the landlords? If the government is forcing the landlords to pay for something that was not caused by them, the government should take responsibility for the consequences." Yes, it should remain in effect until the pandemic is over. 20% Yes, but it shouldn't be extended beyond October. 18% No, landlords have to pay their bills, too. 57% 5% No, it could dampen development of new housing units. "While I have only one rental property and have had some very good tenants, I've also seen tenants take advantage when they can. Landlords have to pay their mortgages and other fixed costs. Tenants need to pay their bills, too." The Black Lives Matter mural in front of the DCU Center in Worcester PHOTO/JOE JACOBS W

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