Worcester Business Journal

56 Worcester Business Journal | October 28, 2024 | wbjournal.com 35th Anniversary WBJ MassEcon, or the Massachusetts Office of Business Development. Once contact is made, Arvidson said, she's usually the first person called, working with potential businesses to understand their needs. "e very next thing is we'll get a team together from MassDevelopment, everyone who could possibly have a role – the fire chief, the real estate team, the financing team, and local partners if they need to. It's one-stop shopping when a company has interest. In an hour, they've answered all their questions," she said. Unlike most towns, where businesses must go through various stages of permitting and approval processes, everything in Devens is "front loaded," said interim executive vice president of Devens Meg Delorier. It keeps things moving quickly. e Bristol Myers Squibb deal was done in 37 days, she said. "In other communities, there are other boards and as they move forward they provide additional information as they move along," Delorier said. "In Devens, we need all the info up front." at speedy, one-stop-shop process was a big selling point for Paul Sellew, founder and CEO of Little Leaf Farms. e lettuce- growing operation opened its Devens greenhouse in 2015. "When you're looking to invest capital, and you want to move ahead … you need to have the ability to buy property and get all your regulatory approval in real time," Sellew said. "With Devens organized as an economic development zone through the Devens Enterprise Commission with its unified permitting process, they clearly made that happen." Devens also provided Little Leaf with plenty of space, a huge plus for any production-oriented company. Little Leaf owns between 25 and 30 acres in Devens, Sellew said, and employs more than 100 people at the facility. e company also employs about 400 people at its greenhouses in McAdoo, Pennsylvania. Plenty of companies clearly love what Devens has to offer, and Dean J. Mazzarella, mayor of Leominster, said his city's economy has in some ways been boosted by the huge business development. On the flip side, Mazzarella said he thinks Leominster has also lost potential tax-paying businesses to its state-of-the- INNOVATIVE. CREATIVE. CUSTOMIZED. EVENTS. Corporate Functions • Non-profit Fundraisers • Virtual Events • Studio Rentals From state-of-the-art sound and lighting design, online planning tools and personal touches, CMP has you covered. We are New England's most trusted event professionals, providing the area's most innovative entertainment solutions. centralmaproductions.com Continued from previous page Col. Edward Nuttall, Fort Devens base commander, at the facility's 1996 closing ceremony. COURTESY FORT DEVENS MUSEUM

• Cover