Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 28, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 21 A s society struggles with the effects of a chang- ing climate, we are relying on engineered solutions such as renewable energy to save the planet. While technology will play a crit- ical role, we must recognize and embrace the power of nature-based solutions to combat many climate challenges. Not only are these services free, but they don't need to be rebuilt or replaced over time. at's why Sudbury Valley Trustees works to conserve open spaces in Central Mass. We want to ensure current and future generations will always benefit from nature's many services. SVT is a nonprofit land trust working in 36 communities around the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord rivers. We collaborate with partners to save local forests, wetlands, and farmlands and to offer area residents a chance to enjoy nature. Nature provides clean water, clean air, and places to rec- reate. Large forests store carbon and moderate the earth's temperature, and undisturbed wetlands absorb heavy rains to prevent flooding. When nature is working, we tend not to notice. But when a river beside a road overflows its banks, the water floods the road, seeps into basements, and damages bridges and buildings, all leading to expensive repairs. If that same river meandered through a wetland, the water would be absorbed without causing damage. One recent project shows how nature's services are at work in the Worcester region. In 2022, SVT teamed up with the Town of Berlin to protect 100 acres of land on the side of Mount Pisgah. e project was awarded an $874,000 grant from the Massachusetts Municipal Vulner- ability Preparedness program in recognition of the many benefits it would provide. ese 100 acres, now called Horseshoe Pond Con- servation Area, help with carbon storage, flood control, pollution mitigation, and groundwater recharge. Trails en- able free recreation to improve human health. All of these benefits translate into real dollars and cents over time. All of us – taxpayers and elected officials – need to un- derstand the costs we avoid by leaving natural systems in- tact. To that end, SVT has worked with the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition and others to develop an Economic Benefits of Open Space toolkit, available at massland.org. Designed for local decision makers, the toolkit uses data to support the argument that, over time, protecting land is the most cost-effective form of engineering. SVT recognizes we must balance many regional priori- ties, among them a need for affordable housing. Not every parcel of land can or should be preserved in its natural state, and we work strategically to protect the lands offering the most natural benefits to society. rough thoughtful planning and conservation, we can all make a lasting im- pact on the quality of life in this region. Lisa Vernegaard is executive director of conservation nonprofit Sudbury Valley Trustees. BY LISA VERNEGAARD Special to WBJ Helping nature, helping ourselves T he value of taxable property in Worcester has risen 13% in the last fiscal year, a sign of not only rising property values but accelerated development in the city. e rising value of property has its upside and downside. Increased values make renting or purchasing a commercial building more expensive, and rising housing costs make purchasing or renting less af - fordable, driving some long-time community residents and businesses out of the city. Still, rising property val- ues is much better than the alternative, and the growth in values means the community has momentum and generally is heading in the right direction. e announcement of new developments in Central Massachusetts, particularly within the Worcester city limits, seems like an almost weekly occurrence now. Proposals can be a tricky metric, as anyone can unveil a fancy rendering of a project still far from the construc - tion phase, and many factors can derail a development. New York developer Silver Brick Group LLC spiked its proposed $55-million residential development on Main Street in Worcester, due to the rising construc- tion costs, a sign the shiing economy is taking its toll. Contrast that lack of success with Alta on the Row, a five-story, 370-unit apartment complex rising faster by the minute at the five-acre former home of the Lady of Mount Carmel Church on Mulberry Street. Anyone driving down I-290 through Worcester can see how quickly that construction project, which first made its rendering public in June 2021, will become reality. The above Editorial is the opinion of the WBJ Editorial Board. The Viewpoint column, the A Thousand Words cartoon, and the Word from the Web commentary represent the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of WBJ or its staff. WBJ welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Send them to bkane@wbjournal.com. A T H O U SA N D WO R D S B Y R A M Ó N L . S A N D O V A L More Worcester developments becoming reality Lisa Vernegaard One highly visible example of the fits and starts in new developments are those planned around the $160-million Polar Park baseball stadium, which – as Staff Writer Kevin Koczwara points out in his "Paying Polar Park's debt" story on page 12 – are key to covering the costs of building the public ballpark. When the stadium district was originally proposed in 2018, the main development was a six-building proposal from Boston developer Madison Proper - ties. Originally slated to start coming online in Jan- uary 2021, those projects have had delays, with the first one of the buildings expected to open next year and the last phase not expected until 2025 or later. Yet, two new proposals have come into the ball- park district, which will help support the stadium debt payments. e first is a seven-story develop- ment called e Cove with 171 residential units and 16,000 square feet of commercial space. Although it shrank in size from its original $110-million, 13-story proposal, e Cove began construction in November and is expected to open in 2024. In Octo- ber, the second of the new Polar Park developments broke ground, an 83-unit affordable housing com- plex called Table Talk Los, which could eventually be 400 units spread across six buildings. It's been a wild ride for development proposals in the city and throughout Central Massachusetts over the last five years or so. e next couple years will bear out which projects become reality and those needing to go back to square one. V I E W P O I N T E D I T O R I A L W W

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