Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | Book of Lists 2023 | wbjournal.com S ince 2020, real estate has become the largest industry in Central Massachusetts, surpassing the long-standing economic powerhouse of manufacturing. Real estate – combined with the finance and insur- ance industries – accounts for $8.6 billion in GDP in Greater Worcester, representing nearly 20% of the region's economic out- put, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The rise of real estate as an industry is no doubt related to the rapid increase in real estate prices over the past three years, as the pop- ulation has grown and demand has fueled cost increases. For example, the median price of a single-family home in Worcester County was $325,000 in 2020. By 2022, that rose to $405,000, according to the Peabody data firm The Warren Group. The changes in real estate have had widespread consequences on the entire Central Massachusetts business community, which is why we choose to feature the industry on the cover of the 2023 Book of Lists, this annual publication full of data about all corners of the region's economy. Price increases and the spike in demand has brought developers from across the nation to Central Massachusetts to build multi-family housing, such as those pictured on the cover (in photos taken beautifully by artist Matt Wright). These developments still aren't enough, though, as demand for residential real estate is outpac- ing supply, particularly on the affordable end of the market. In fact, the lack of housing is causing all sorts of issues, from putting new demand on the healthcare system as homelessness rises to employers having a hard time recruiting people in an already tight labor market, as salary offers must keep pace with the cost of living. Yet, Central Massachusetts real estate is attracting companies to the region, too, particularly life sciences companies looking to escape the even more expensive prices in the Greater Boston market. Cambridge drugmaker is putting a nine-figure investment into Marlborough, while Watertown-based EyePoint Pharmaceuticals has broken ground on a new 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Northbridge. Life sciences and the accompanying entrepreneurial ecosystem has led WBJ to revive for this Book of Lists the list of the largest venture capital deals in the region, led not by a biotech firm but by an innovative vegetable grower in Devens. Other lists revived for this year include the real estate-adjacent topics of Central Massachusetts architects and Worcester's biggest property taxpayers. New to the Book of Lists this year is a look at employee-owned companies. Each year, the Book of Lists gives us an opportunity to see how the Central Massachusetts economy has changed and what is generating the buzz. Real estate has been building that buzz for years and almost assuredly will play a sig- nificant role in the years to come. - Brad Kane, editor C O N T E N T S The rise of real estate BANKING & FINANCE ......................................... 9 Banks ........................................................10-11 Credit unions .............................................13-15 SBA lenders .................................................... 16 Venture capital deals ....................................... 17 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ............................... 19 Law firms ....................................................... 20 Accounting firms ............................................. 22 Insurance agencies ......................................... 23 Advertising, marketing & communications firms .........................................................24-26 IT services providers ..................................28-30 Chambers of commerce .................................. 31 Incubators ...................................................... 32 Commercial cleaners....................................... 33 REAL ESTATE ................................................... 35 Commercial sales ........................................... 36 Commercial leases .......................................... 37 Architectural firms ........................................... 38 Worcester property taxpayers .......................... 39 Commercial contractors .................................. 40 HEALTH CARE ................................................... 43 Hospitals ...................................................44-46 Health insurers................................................ 48 Physician groups ............................................. 49 Addiction treatment centers ............................. 50 HOSPITALITY .................................................... 55 Meeting facilities ........................................54-57 Hotels ............................................................. 58 Golf courses ................................................... 59 Tourist attractions ......................................60-62 MANUFACTURING ........................................... 65 Manufacturers ...........................................66-67 Life sciences & biotech companies .............68-69 Breweries ..................................................70-71 Marijuana businesses .................................72-73 EDUCATION & NONPROFITS ............................ 75 Colleges & universities .................................... 76 Private high schools ........................................ 77 Vocational-technical high schools .................... 78 Human services nonprofits .............................. 79 Grant-making foundations & nonprofits ............ 80 Arts & culture nonprofits ................................. 81 GENERAL INTEREST ........................................ 82 Highest-paid CEOs .......................................... 83 Highest-paid nonprofit chief executives ............ 84 Employee-owned companies* .......................... 85 Minority-owned businesses ............................. 86 Woman-owned businesses .........................87-88 Veteran-owned businesses ............................. 89 Temporary staffing firms .................................. 90 Highest-paid state employees .......................... 91 INDEX OF PEOPLE AND COMPANIES ..........92-94 *New list created for first time in 2023. INDEXED BY INDUSTRY CATEGORY 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 2022. 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. A division of: Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com Staff Writers Timothy Doyle tdoyle@wbjournal.com (Real estate, higher education) Isabel Tehan, itehan@wbjournal.com (Health care, diversity & inclusion) Contributors Giselle Rivera-Flores, Laura Finaldi, Monica Benevides, Alan Earls, Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon Photographers Matt Wright, Edd Cote, Christine Peterson Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street • Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax • www.wbjournal.com Worcester Business Journal WBJ Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@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 Account Executive Yasmin Nasrullah, ynasrullah@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Human Resources Manager, Tracy Rodwill, trodwill@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Manager, Sara Ward, sward@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Account Receivable Specialist, Patty Harris, pharris@nebusinessmedia.com Audience Development Manager, Leah Allen, lallen@nebusinessmedia.com Business Office Assistant, Nicole Dunn, ndunn@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Tom Curtin tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com COVER PRICE: $25.00 On the cover: The multi-family housing developments featured on the cover of the 2023 Book of Lists are The Cove in Worcester, SOMA in Worcester, 19 Canal in Millbury, and The Burrow in Marlborough. Photos | Matt Wright

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