Worcester Business Journal

S12 Worcester Business Journal | May 24, 2021 | wbjournal.com S P E C I A L S E C T I O N : W O R C E S T E R E M E R G I N G wpi.edu/WBJ-Business Offered on campus and online. Bold innovators win in tech. Learn how to embrace and manage risk. WPI's premier Business School is the place for you. Try 1 or 2 graduate courses in data science, user experience, marketing, and supply chain operations. Or explore our master's and certificate programs. Time for a promotion? Career switch? Synergy's attention. "We really were excited to see what was happening in downtown Worcester and that's really what prompted our investment in the city," said Greaney. Mazzocchi and Boston Capital Devel- opments are similarly optimistic about Worcester's growth. "We view Worcester with the mo- mentum and the urban core as being an 18-hour city," he said. Residentially, there is also a lot of potential. Boston Capital Developments looks to first build affordable housing and then move to workforce and mar- ket-rate housing. "With the continued momentum in Worcester, we see market-rate housing over the next several years as being something we can develop," said Maz- zocchi. e high demand for apartment living also influenced investment, said Mazzocchi. "ere's clearly not enough supply when you look across, whether it's mar- ket-rate, workforce housing, or afford- able," he said. e affordability in Worcester, espe- cially in comparison to Boston, plays a large part in the city's appeal to both employers and employees. "One of the best things that allows us to recruit good talent is the affordability the area offers," said Nedelman. Not only does Worcester have an urban core that is attractive to young- er generations, but it also has great momentum and is at a cost significantly discounted compared to Boston, said Mazzocchi. "Cities like Boston have been priced incredibly expensively for development," said Umphrey, "Worcester has been seen as a place of opportunity from a return on investment perspective." Moreover, the city is appealing to developers because of the way its lead- ership works, said O'Brien, who built the Trolley Yard retail complex and is developing the main site of the bioman- ufacturing campus e Reactory. "ere's no question the city of Worcester is developer friendly. ey're anxious to work with you," he said. In turn, commercial and residential factors come together to create retail op- portunities as the population of people living and working in Worcester grows over time. O'Brien's outlook on retail in Worcester further emphasized the other panelists' optimism. "Retail will follow the population," he said, "so it's not going to go anyway. I think that any portion of Worcester … it doesn't matter, if the population is there, the retail is going to find it; and they're going to look to be around that, not only the residential but the daytime population." Worcester's location, being an hour away from Boston, Providence, Hart- ford, Springfield, and Lowell, further adds to its appeal to both residents and employers. "From a distribution perspective, whatever that may mean to an indi- vidual company, you are literally in the center of New England," said Umphrey. e growth of the life sciences industry in Worcester has enormously evolved and all of the benefits of the city spark optimism for Worcester's growth as a major player in the industry, said Nedelman. "In my mind, Worcester is the ideal location for a company like Biomere as well as a biopharmaceutical cluster," he said. erefore, Worcester continues to be in a prime position to draw more com- panies from the life sciences industry. "Worcester is slowly getting there, and the train is going to pick up speed," said O'Brien. "at cluster is going to contin- ue to build, get larger and larger, and it's going to just help us to persuade more businesses to come into the Worcester community." But Worcester also appeals to businesses outside of the life sciences industry. "In general, the environment in Worcester is very pro-business," said Umphrey. All of these factors lead to developer confidence and point to sustained and continued growth in investment in the city. "ere's a strong level of optimism by developers," said Umphrey, "and the market is there to support that type of development." W Officials from the Worcester Red Sox and the City of Worcester at a press tour of the new Polar Park baseball stadium. PHOTO | GRANT WELKER

• Cover