Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | May 24, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 5 B R I E FS Conn. pharmaceutical executive to lead MassBiologics Worcester's UMass Medical School announced May 18 that Mireli Fino will be the next executive vice chancellor for MassBiologics on July 1, leading the organization dedicated to improving worldwide health. Fino is a biotech executive with nearly 30 years of experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing. She will join MassBio- logics from Protein Sciences, a Sanofi company in Mer- iden, Conn., where she has worked since 2012 as senior vice president for manufacturing op- erations. Fino is the site head for Protein Sciences' Pearl River and Meriden oper- ations, where she oversees the production of vaccines and biopharmaceuticals at multiple sites and contract manufacturing organizations. She previously worked for 16 years at New Jersey company Wyeth Pharmaceu- ticals and Pfizer, Inc. of New York City, in a variety of senior roles. Edgemere housing development slated for June 2022 opening e residential component of the Edge- mere Crossing at Flint Pond development in Shrewsbury, which will be anchored by an 80,000-square-foot Market Basket grocery store, is expected to deliver the first of its 250 units by June 2022, with final completion by January 2023. "We are excited to be moving our first residents in next year," said Andrew Dolben, executive vice president of e Dolben Co., Inc. of Woburn, which is building the housing development. e bank Rockland Trust gave the updated timeline in an announcement on May 13, saying the bank led the $53-million financing package to e Dolben Co. to build the housing at the former Edgemere Drive-In movie theater on Route 20. e development will include 116 one-bedroom units and 134 two-bedroom units, and 25 of those will be affordable housing. "e development will support economic activity, especially the patronage of local businesses. We look forward to continuing to be part of the area's success for years to come," said Peter Staiti, first vice president and commercial lending center manager at Rockland Trust. More striking Saint Vincent nurses to be permanently replaced Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester on May 18 said it has added another 49 permanent replacement positions for the striking members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association union, as the 72-day fight over staffing ratios continues. e latest announcement brings the total number of available replacement nursing positions at the hospital to 102, according to a release from Saint Vincent. e hospital said it has begun screening applicants and plans to start making offers Wednesday. Saint Vincent has said it is making the hires as a way to reduce the cost of having temporary replacement nurses. If their position is permanently filled, striking MNA nurses will no longer be able to return immediately to work at the hospital once the strike ends. Instead, they will be placed on a preferred hire list and be eligible to return once vacancies arise. e MNA has 800 members at Saint Vincent, although about 140 have crossed the picket line to continue working at the hospital, according to Saint Vincent. eir work at the hospital has been supplement- ed by temporary hires. MassDevelopment provides $258K to clean up site for $18M Main South housing project MassDevelopment has awarded $257,800 from the Brownfields Redevel- opment Fund to the Main South Com- munity Development Corp. for work on a former foundry site vacant for 60 years. e funds will help move an $18-million mixed-use Worcester housing project forward, according to a release from MassDevelopment on May 12 announc- ing the funds. e Main South CDC is working to as- sess and remediate the lot at 92 Grand St. in Worcester's Main South neighborhood. e organization plans to build a mixed- use development at the site, the Grand Street Commons, which will feature 48 units of mixed-income rental housing and ground-floor commercial and retail space. Forty-six of the new facility's units will be rented to households earning no more than 60% of the area median income. e 92 Grand St. property was once part of the industrial-era Crompton Knowles and Standard Foundry mill complex lining the Grand Street area. e 90,000-square-foot property has been vacant since 1960. I don't donate to my alma mater Do you donate to your alma mater? Clark University in Worcester in May was the latest Worcester college to announce it had received a hefty financial gift from one of its former students. The $6-million bequest from Tina Sweeney, who received her master's degree from the school in 1949, will be used to establish a series of music education programs in and around the school, as well as endow a music professor music and scholarship. Colleges typically ask alumni to donate to their alma maters, either for specific programs or to a general fund. When polled online, the slim majority of WBJ readers said they don't give money to their alma maters. F L AS H P O L L No, I can't afford to. 12% COMMENTS "I have donated regularly to both my undergraduate college and my (profes- sional) graduate school. Without financial aid, I could not have attended either. The generosity of those who came before me made my attendance possible. It is important to me that future generations of students have the same opportunities that I was given." Intelligent BUSINESS Solutions Start at IC! Info: Call 978.353.1331 or email businessbanking@iccreditunion.com Federally Insured by NCUA Like, Friend or Follow Us From small to large, and anything in between… We've got you covered. OPERATIONS for equipment or other purchases FLEXIBILITY for a line of credit for cash flow EXPANSION for commercial real estate No, I gave my school(s) enough money already. 39% Yes, regularly 31% Yes, although amount and frequency vary 19% "No, because I believe that my Ivy League alma mater should be teaching students how to think, not what to think!" Mireli Fino, incoming head of MassBiologics Continued on Page 6

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