Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 24, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 3 Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com Senior Staff Writer, Monica Benevides, mbenevides@wbjournal.com (Health care, diversity & inclusion) Staff Writers Katherine Hamilton khamilton@wbjournal.com (Real estate, higher education) Sloane M. Perron perron@wbjournal.com (Banking & finance, manufacturing) Contributors Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon Photgraphers Matt Wright, Edd Cote Lead Researcher, Timothy Doyle, tdoyle@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Senior Special Accounts Manager Mary Lynn Bosiak, mlbosiak@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com COO, Mary Rogers, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Account Receivable Specialist, Patty Harris, pharris@nebusinessmedia.com Human Resources, Jill Coran, jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Audience Development, Valerie Clark, vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Operations Assistant, Leah Allen, lallen@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Tom Curtin tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi-weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special issues in May, September, October, and December by New England Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $72.00. For more information, please email wbjournal@cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com Worcester Business Journal WBJ F or our commercial real estate focus section starting on page 10, WBJ's editorial staff brings you stories about developments in Southbridge, Dudley, and Worcester. You will notice a significant shi in tone with Staff Writer Katherine Hamilton's story "Downsized" about the Worcester developments. While the articles about developments in Southbridge and Dudley focus more on project leaders' high ambitions to pre- serve historic landmarks while hopefully sparking a revitalization of rundown neighborhoods, Hamilton takes a far more critical look at the developments surrounding Polar Park, which are key to paying off the $160-million public facility used to lure the Pawtucket Red Sox to the Canal District. Part of the reason for this tonal shi is circumstantial, as the South- bridge and Dudley projects are growing and Worcester's are shrinking. Moreover, Hamilton's tone is more reflective of the critical eye WBJ has had toward the Polar Park project basical- ly since the beginning, when in 2018 the city, WooSox, and one developer announced the plan to move the team from Rhode Island. is extra scrutiny stems from one of my main philosophies, shared by the WBJ editorial staff: If a government is going to give $160 million toward enticing one single business, particularly a small company with less than 50 full-time employees operating seasonally, there needs to be transparency and accountability for that deal, to ensure it fulfills its promises to the public. It has long bothered me that no other local media outlets share this philosophy about Polar Park's public spending, as the Telegram & Gazette, MassLive, and Spectrum News 1 all seem willing to uncritically parrot the lines from city and team officials about how great the ball- park is. Because WBJ oen stands alone in holding the project to account, this has created a perception among the stadium defenders that we are somehow an- ti-WooSox or anti-Worcester, which isn't the case. ere's no doubt the stadium and the WooSox have had some positives for the community; just look at how enthusiastic WBJ readers in the Flash Poll on page 11 are about the upcoming season. Yet, our first and highest priorities in the WBJ newsroom are to truth and accountability, and if a project where a government gave $160 million toward a private business isn't going so well, we are going to report on that. - Brad Kane, editor Extra scrutiny for Polar Park N E W S & A N A LY S I S 4 Central Mass. In Brief 10 Focus on Commercial real estate 16 The List: Notable commercial sales 17 The List: Notable commercial leases 18 Guest column 19 Know How 20 Movers & Shakers 21 Opinion 22 Shop Talk: Son Vo 12 Saving history A $45-million mill redevelopment effort in Dudley seeks to further anchor a revitalization around the community. 14 Wave of the future The Southbridge Innovation Center seeks to tie the town's historic past to a future enticing to new residents, old residents, and businesses. D E P A R T M E N T S A division of: also reflect on those you have achieved this past year. In 2021, Our Commercial Team had a year filled In 2021, Our Commercial Team had a year filled with prosperous relationships, long-term with prosperous relationships, long-term projects & a strong sense of camaraderie. projects & a strong sense of camaraderie. As you set goals for the new year... Let us help you achieve your goals in 2022 - we offer construction and permanent financing. 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