Worcester Business Journal

8 Worcester Business Journal | September 28, 2020 | wbjournal.com Tomorrow is already on its way, and our job is to set you up for success. As a local bank, we know what it takes to run a business around here. We offer personalized guidance and a suite of business products, from free checking and online and mobile banking, to cash management services and lending. We're committed to helping your business grow and prosper. Growing your business has never been easier Learn more at bankHometown.com or call 888.307.5887 Member FDIC | Member DIF However, Zimbalist advised Worces- ter would buck that trend, mostly because of a planned mixed-use development from Madison Properties, which originally expected to invest $140 million to build hotels, apartments, an office building and retail spaces. e money generated in taxes and fees from Madison's development, along with parking revenue from the baseball games and the team's annual $1-million lease payment, was supposed to offset the money the city would borrow to build the stadium. Madison bought 18 acres of property on both sides of Madison Street from the manufacturing firm Wyman-Gor- don in March 2019 for $6.1 million, including the site on which the ball- park sits. In exchange for tax breaks on the various buildings of its mixed-use development and the city waiving $2.25 million in permitting fees, Madison was supposed to convey the land for the ballpark to the city. e original deadline for that deal was April 1, 2019. Madison President Dowdle didn't return messages seeking comment on why Madison has been delaying in giving the city the ballpark site. e current memorandum of understanding between Madison and the city is non-binding. Madison bought the ballpark prop- erty first, instead of the city obtaining it directly, Bird said, because Madison and Wyman-Gordon were already in sale discussions. Without a deed to the Polar Park site, PawSox who have owners and executives experienced in negotiations – public officials are typically at a disadvantage, said Jodi Balsam, who teaches sports law at Brooklyn Law School in New York. "ey're not negotiating from a place of business wherewithal and resources," she said of the city. "ey're elected offi- cials negotiating on behalf of the city. It has no resemblance to how negotiations are handled in the capital market." When the PawSox in 2017 indicated they were considering leaving their long- time home of Pawtucket, about 20 local governments from around New England offered various deals to bring the team to their communities. PawSox officials have said they chose Worcester because of its rising economic and cultural momen- tum, although the then $101 million in public financing Worcester offered the team was far more than the $38 million Rhode Island offered to keep the team in Pawtucket. Ballpark deed is 19 months behind schedule City officials chose to build the ball- park on the advice of a paid consultant, the sports economist Andrew Zimbalist from Smith College in Northampton, who typically had been a critic of pub- licly funded stadiums, including in his 1997 book. Continued on Page 7 New timelines & values for Madison Properties' ballpark-related project A proposed development from Boston-based Madison Properties slated to rise next to Worcester's Polar Park stadium has been delayed and its hotel's size cut in half. The development on both sides of Madison Street was spurred by the ballpark's construction and is being relied on to help the city repay construction costs of the $132-million public stadium. New opening Old opening New anticipated Old anticipated Municipal Project Description date date assessed value assessed value tax break 1st residential building 225 residential units Sept. 2022 Sept. 2021 N/A N/A 15 years Left field office building 121,195 square feet overlooking playing field April 2023 April 2021 $15.6 million $12.8 million 15 years 2nd residential building 125 residential units Dec. 2023 Dec. 2022 $11.3 million $15.9 million 15 years Hotel 125 rooms (revised down from 262) May 2024 May 2022 $11.7 million $26.2 million 13 years Office/lab building 60,000 square feet Dec. 2024 Dec. 2023 $10.8 million $17.8 million 10 years Parking garage 340 parking spaces (revised down from 525) Fall 2021 Jan. 2021 N/A N/A Yes* *The parking garage has been funded as part of a $35-million state commitment for the project, which also includes subsidies for the project's residential component. Note: Original opening and planned values are from January. Building values are estimated assessed value and do not include retail components. The parking garage, unlike the other buildings, will be built and owned by the city but leased to Madison Properties. Source: City of Worcester

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