Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | October 28, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 21 35th Anniversary WBJ 2018 • City Woos the Sox – In a seismic development for Worcester's Canal District and downtown, city leaders joined Pawtucket Red Sox officials in August to announce the Red Sox' top minor league affiliate would move to the long-vacant Wyman-Gordon property at Madison and Washington streets. The sta- dium would debut in May 2021 as Polar Park and ultimately cost $159 million, including $41 million for land-taking. • Green banking solution – Gard- ner-based GFA Federal Credit Union made a name for itself in September when it became the first bank to ser- vice the state's nascent legal mari- juana industry. GFA partnered with Safe Harbor Services of Colorado, a financial services firm specializing in the cannabis business. 2019 • Living and dying – After 49 years as a quintessential grocery desti- nation in Worcester, the venerable Living Earth Natural Market & Cafe announced it would close at year's Graduate Degrees in Finance clarku.edu/business The Clark MBA Fintech | Finance | Accounting Accounting Analytics Generous Scholarships for Central Massachusetts Residents Business Driven. Socially Focused. School of Business C L A R K U N I V E R S I T Y end. Long before it was trendy, Living Earth sold organic, locally sourced, farm-to-table products. The popular market was owned and operated by its founders Albert and Magdalena Maykel since its 1971 founding. 2020 • A pandemic positive – As COVID-19 was upending life as we know it, a slew of innovations became part of the "new normal." Some, like telehealth, were here to stay. Reliant Medical Group had not yet begun the practice before Jan- uary, but instituted virtual appoint- ments within days. By May, UMass Memorial Medical Center had conducted up to 25,000 telehealth appointments a month. Easy does it – Framingham office retailer Staples sold its longtime headquarters in February for $165 million to a New York firm spe- cializing in sale-leaseback deals. LCN Capital Partners added the 907,000-square-foot building to its portfolio of more than 200 properties comprising more than 24 million square feet of space. 2021 • What's in a name? $175M – UMass Medical School announced it had received a $175 million donation from The Morningside Foundation, whose founders, the Chan family, had launched the venture capital and private equity firm in 1986. The gift, to be paid over five years, added $35 million annually to the school's $200 million endowment; it also changed the school's name to UMass Chan Medical School. • Ladies' first – Marlborough-based St. Mary's Credit Union named Larissa Thurston president and CEO in October to replace retiring CEO James Garvey. Thurston, formerly chief operating and financial officer, was the first woman to lead the institution since its 1913 founding. 2022 • Bold Sturbridge vision – The owner of 12 convenience stores and gas stations in Connecticut announced plans to build a $17.5 million electric vehicle discovery center and travel stop at the site of a former truck stop in Stur- bridge. Michael Frisbie said the 16,000-square-foot building would include a convention center, electric vehicle showroom and driving range, charging station, and gas station. 2023 • Canna-biz! – Massachusetts adult-use marijuana gross sales passed the $5-billion milestone in August, according to the Worces- ter-based Cannabis Control Com- mission. Recreational sales had hit the $4 billion mark in January. The CCC said the eight-month period between sales benchmarks was the fastest Mass. marijuana sales had generated $1 billion. • Diamond in the rough – Only four months before principal owner Larry Lucchino died, the Worcester Red Sox were acquired by Diamond Baseball Holdings, a subsidiary of private equity giant Silver Lake, which owns and operates 36 minor league teams. Ralph Crowley Jr. and Jim Skeffington Jr. were retained as local ownership, with DBH purchasing a majority of shares. 2024 • From Russia, with love – IPG Photonics, founded in Moscow in 1990 and now the third-largest manufacturer in Central Mass., sold its Russian subsidiary IRE-Polus In August for $51 million. The company, based in Marlborough and Oxford, referenced the impact of sanctions on trade initiated after the start of the Russian war with Ukraine, as it marked its exit from the country after 34 years. – Compiled by Fred Hurlbrink Jr.

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