Worcester Business Journal

10 Worcester Business Journal | November 23, 2020 | wbjournal.com W At Country Bank, we believe in giving back to the communities in which we live and do business. To show our support, we celebrated new Community Heroes each week by honoring them with a $250 gift card to the local business of their choice and made equal donations in their names to local COVID-19 relief organizations — ranging from medical facilities, food pantries and homeless shelters to assisting veterans. We're honored to not only stand by our customers through hardships, but also support community members who have been helping others get through these challenging times as well. M E M B E R F D I C | M E M B E R D I F countrybank.com/community-heroes W O R C E S T E R P U B L I C M A R K E T I N T E R A C T I V E A T M 2 7 8 P A R K A V E | 3 1 5 M A I N S T R E E T GIVING BACK I S T H E B E S T W A Y F O R W A R D . We think people a better sense of where they are and where they're going. "We definitely want people, when they come into the BID district, to be like, 'Aha, this is downtown,'" Darling said. From arts fests to financial guidance Hudson's district, without as many offices and residents as downtown Worcester, is more dependent on a dining scene, including the sibling establishments Rail Trail Flatbread Co., New City Microcreamery and Less an Greater an. ey've been joined in the past two years by a second outpost of Marlbor- ough's Welly's and Ground Effect Brew- ing. But a planned Mexican restaurant just west of Felton Street on Main Street, called Conico, fell through, and in June, Sofia Ristorante closed. e Hudson Downtown Business Improvement District came as a result of strides the neighborhood already made with Rail Trail, Medusa Brewing Co. and others. e district started in 2018, held spring arts festivals, and last year helped throw the first Taste of Hudson food festival. A relative lack of density compared to office workers in places like Boston, Worcester or Springfield has worked a bit to Hudson's advantage during the pandemic. Expanded sidewalk space as part of previously planned street improve- ments have given Main Street restaurants more space for outdoor dining. "We're faring better than others in some cases," Braga said. Still, the district elected to hire an accountant to work with neighborhood businesses to help figure out finances, with roughly 70 of the 85 property own- ers and tenants using the service. District leaders have even acted as a real estate agent of sorts. Paisley, a cloth- ing boutique in the Hastings Building on Main Street, ended up moving to a storefront down the street that was a better fit, Braga said. A dry cleaner then went in its place, and a gym is renting where a karate studio once was. Old priorities were installing benches, planting flowers or cleaning up trash. "All things that don't mean much if you don't have businesses there," Braga said. Instead, the district is going on the offensive: working to match vacancies with potential tenants, and launching a grant program to give one recipient $500 a month in rent for a year. "I'm confident downtown will bounce back to a new normal," Braga said. The Hudson Downtown Business Improvement District spans roughly a half-mile stetch of Main Street, as well as South Street and adjacent parcels. In all, just over 100 properties are included in the zone. Continued from page 9

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