Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal | June 12, 2023 | wbjournal.com ginia-based Gannett, has been steadi- ly reducing the amount of staff. For example, the Telegram newsroom has 21 employees. at's down from the 162 employees who moved into two floors of the office building back in July 2012. A statement from the Telegram & Ga- zette spokesperson didn't commit to the publication staying in the Mercantile. "e Telegram & Gazette office is a leased space located in Worcester. As we evaluate our needs, we are firmly committed to serving our readers and advertisers," the statement said. Fletcher Tilton will take over more than 20,000 square feet on the fih floor and part of the 10th floor. e move will make way for a full build out for Fletch- er Tilton, which signed a 10-year lease. e space is expected to be complete for occupancy in December, according to a May 25 press release from Mercantile Center owner Franklin Realty Advisors. "We are so pleased to welcome our newest tenant, and friends, at Fletcher Tilton to Mercantile Center," Norton said in the press release. "A move of this kind, aer 40+ years at their previous location, is quite significant. e firm employs over 118 attorneys and team members which will significantly contribute to the workforce here in Downtown Worcester. We know they will enjoy all that Mercantile Center and the Downtown has to offer." e firm has been leasing approxi- mately 30,000 square-feet of office space in the Guaranty Building at 370 Main St. in Worcester. Executive Director Mi- chael Sweeney said when the firm's lease was up at its long-time home, Fletcher Tilton looked at multiple bids for new space and felt that the Mercantile Center was the right fit. CommCan closes Southborough marijuana dispensary, expands in Rehoboth Millis cannabis firm CommCan is consolidating its operations, having closed its medical-only Southborough dispensary and transferred that license to a joint adult-use and medical dispen- sary in Rehoboth. "You see what's happening in the industry, so any way we can save money, we're doing it," said Ellen Rosenfeld, one of three siblings who own CommCan. June 6 was the first day medical license sales were available in Reho- both. e Southborough location at 255 Turnpike Road officially closed on May 31, said Rosenfeld. e Southborough location closure by the independently-owned CommCan came in the same week Florida-based multi-state operator Trulieve said it was withdrawing from the Massachu- setts market and closing dispensa- ries in Worcester, Framingham, and Northampton. e Southborough dispensary was CommCan's only location strictly selling to customers with medical licenses. e company is moving its medical license sales from that location to its opera- tions in Rehoboth at 150 Barney Ave. CommCan operates another medical and recreational dispensary in Millis. It plans to open an additional location in Mansfield in 2024, according to the CommCan website. e Southborough location was not closed due to a lack of recreational sale ability, said Rosenfeld. "at location would not have supported it," said Rosenfeld, citing the location's small size and lack of parking. e decision to close was a business decision to consolidate operations, said Rosenfeld. e Southborough location was Com- mCan's only rented dispensary property, said Rosenfeld. She credited the landlord as well as the Town of Southborough for being supportive of the business since the location opened in 2018. All staff from the Southborough loca- tion were dispersed to other CommCan operations, Rosenfeld said, avoiding layoffs. Maynard genetically- engineered fish farming firm stops construction on large Ohio facility AquaBounty Technologies, a May- nard-based salmon-farming company, has paused construction on its planned 479,000-square-foot Pioneer, Ohio fish farm, because of an increase in projected construction costs. "During the past three years, AquaBounty has been working with its design and construction partners to manage through and mitigate the increasing costs that were exacerbated by historic inflation levels to complete construction of its Pioneer, Ohio, farm," President & CEO Sylvia Wulf said in a June 2 press release from the company. Aer the first contractor's cost estimates increased, AquaBounty ap- proached a second firm in January, but the project's guaranteed maximum price came in significantly higher than the $375- to $395-million earlier estimate, which meant the company no longer had access to municipal bond financing, according to Wulf. "As a result, the company has put an immediate pause on further construc- tion of the site while the management team undertakes a detailed review of its strategic options, including evaluating a smaller scope or size for the farm, " said Wulf. "We believe in this project and its importance to the Company's growth strategy. Our focus now is on bringing it to completion in a manner that is prudent for the Company and our shareholders." AquaBounty raised more than $127 million for the project through a public stock offering in 2021-22. It broke ground on the facility in April 2022, according to a press release from the company at that time. e company continues to produce fish at its farm in Albany, Indiana, as well as fish eggs, fish-fry, and research in Prince Edward Island, Canada. AquaBounty began producing fish at its Indiana farm in 2019, with its first harvest in June 2020. Devens fusion company awarded slice of $46M DOE milestone program Commonwealth Fusion Systems is one of eight companies nationwide to receive funding as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's $46-million Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program, as part of an effort to produce a pilot-scale demonstration of fusion energy generation within a decade. "is program is part of the bold commitment from the Biden-Harris Administration to bring clean fusion energy to the grid within the next decade," CFS Co-founder and CEO Bob Mumgaard said in a May 31 CFS press release. "It leverages the strengths of the private and public sectors and encourag- es collaboration to accelerate progress." CFS's work in the field of fusion was already on DOE's radar. When the com- pany opened its new $2-billion Devens headquarters and manufacturing facility in February, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm was among the high-profile attendees, which included U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), U.S. Senator Edward Markey (D-MA), U.S. Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D -MA District 3), Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll in attendance. B R I E F S Continued from previous page CommCan co-owners and siblings Marc, Ellen, and Jon Rosenfeld U.S. senators and the Department of Energy secretary visit Commonwealth Fusion. PHOTO | COURTESY OF COMMCAN PHOTO | COURTESY OF COMMONWEALTH FUSION SYSTEMS

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