Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | May 16, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 9 workers, housing is getting more unaffordable in Worcester, threatening to push workers into cheaper suburbs, Richmond said. "If we lose all of these regular people in Worcester, who's going to staff the kitchens and the restaurants and the gas stations and things like that?" she said. With a $28,945 median per capita income, Worcester has the lowest average income compared with its eight bordering towns, according to the Census. Meanwhile, rents in the city have risen 14% in the last year to an average of $1,538 per month, according to Zumper.com. As rising housing costs progressively price workers out of the city, employers are faced with the question of when to step in and offer assistance. "e costs are obviously going up across the board in Massachusetts, so it's definitely something that employers should consider when they're thinking about their workers and their housing situation," said David Sullivan, economic development and business recruitment associate at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. In a 2019 report on workforce housing, the Worcester chamber highlighted the benefits of employer- assisted housing, looking at the bottom-line advantages for companies when employees have affordable, close- proximity housing. Since that report was released, the 2020 Census data revealed Worcester was the fastest-growing major city in New England, with a 14% population increase over the past decade. Roughly 25,000 people moved to Worcester, but the housing stock increased by 10,000 units in the same amount of time, creating a massive strain on supply, Sullivan said. Feasibility for employers Providing housing to workers presents a massive challenge for most employers, especially in Worcester where the rental vacancy rate teeters around 4%. For the WooSox, it took a Herculean team effort to provide housing to all players by the start of the season, said Lisa Jacobs, a Realtor at Keller Williams, Pinnacle in Worcester, whom the team chose to procure the housing. "Housing is very, very tight here. It's very difficult, but we did it," said Jacobs, who found 33 beds for players in less than three months. "A lot of the stuff I found was off-market … It came down to the relationships I have built over the years." Although the burden of housing affordability isn't unique to the WooSox, the MLB's ability to provide free housing is unusual. Most small businesses would find it economically infeasible to provide housing assistance, much less free housing, said Sullivan. "A lot has changed since [the 2019 chamber housing report came out]. With the increases in inflation and the costs of pretty much everything, including labor and benefits, it would be really difficult for a small business to help with housing assistance for their employees," he said. Instead, Sullivan said the chamber's most recent efforts have gone toward promoting condominium construction in Worcester. Under a new state program called Commonwealth Builder, developers would receive financial incentives to construct workforce condos catered toward people with incomes around 60% to 120% of the area median income. Employers can offer educational programs to help workers connect with landlords or learn about home buying, Richmond from RCAP said. Ultimately, though, the employers who may feel the effects of losing workers to cheaper suburbs are not the ones with power over the system, Richmond said. "e bottom line is, we need more housing," she said. W ARCHITECTURE | PLANNING | DESIGN INNOVATION 50 Speen Street, Ste 300, Framingham, MA 01701 Photo: © Keitaro Yoshioka 617-467-3119 MATZCollaborative.com CREATIVE SPACES FOR LEARNING, GROWING AND SUSTAINING We're worried about our employees finding housing Are you worried about your employees being able to find suitable housing in close enough proximity to your business? Housing costs in Central Massachusetts have been rising at an accelerated clip for the last two years. The median single-family home price in Worcester County is now $380,000, an increase of 10% from a year ago, with rents on the rise as well. When polled online, the majority of WBJ readers said they are concerned their workers won't be able to find suitable housing. F L AS H P O L L Yes 57% No 43% Housing workers can afford Note: No available Census data for Boylston's average income Sources: U.S Census Bureau data, updated July 2021; Zumper.com; and The Warren Group Worcester has the lowest income of its bordering towns, but the third-highest median rent, despite having the next-to-lowest single-family home price. West Boylston $38,611 $2,575 $467,500 Shrewsbury $50,613 $1,790 $508,000 Worcester $28,945 $1,538 $350,750 Millbury $42,590 $1,400 $375,000 Auburn $41,437 $1,400 $378,000 Holden $49,245 $1,200 $372,500 Paxton $49,001 $1,200 $347,950 Leicester $37,640 $1,200 $365,000 Grafton $48,007 $1,188 $602,000 Median Median single-family Town individual income Median rent home price

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