Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | May 4, 2026 | wbjournal.com 800-939-9103 cornerstonebank.com Member FDIC | Member DIF Scan the QR code to connect with us. More Than Half of Businesses in the U.S. Reported Fraud in the Past Two Years We Can Help with Positive Pay Positive Pay is the leading fraud-prevention solution designed to help protect your business against altered, forged, or counterfeit checks and ACH debits clearing your account—with the convenience of reviewing and acting on decision items right from online banking or the mobile app. So far this year, we've protected our business customers from over $250,000 in fraudulent transactions, and we're just getting started. density, allowing buildings to be built higher and use more of the parcels they occupy, said Michelle Smith, assistant chief development officer for the City. e rezoning would allow for more potential growth for the campus utilized by Illinois-based AbbVie. e global research-based bio- pharmaceutical firm occupies a 457,170-square-foot building at 100 Research Drive and is working to complete a three-story, 55,211-square- foot building containing an employee cafeteria, offices, and warehouse space. "e building that they're in the process of constructing will bring them to a 0.4 floor-area-ratio, leaving them very little room," Smith said during the meeting. "AbbVie is more or less at the density that's allowed right now. What that means is lots of surface parking, lots of areas that aren't being utilized. Increasing the density allowed here al- lows for more compact development." e move will rezone about 36 acres of land between the area northwest of AbbVie along the eastern edge of Green Hill Park to single-family res- idential, which brings it more in line with nearby residential zoning and will help preserve open space, Smith said. Community Healthlink to close, transfer programs UMass Memorial Health in Worcester is set to close its affiliate Community Healthlink and transfer several of its mental health programs to other providers, as the system navi- gates financial challenges. UMass Memorial is transferring 17 state-contracted mental health and substance use treatment programs, including residential facilities, to Worcester-based nonprofit Open Sky Community Services and Northamp- ton-based nonprofit Clinical & Sup- port Options. e system can no longer sustain the Community Healthlink programs financially, leading to the decision to transition operations to other provid- ers, said Dr. Eric Dickson, president and CEO of UMass Memorial. Employees at each facility are not guaranteed their current positions 5.2% Greater Worcester unemployment rate in February, down from 5.3% in January and above the February statewide average of 4.8% Source: Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development $18 million Effective drop in National Institutes of Health funding at UMass Chan Medical School between fiscals 2024 and 2025, as the federal govern- ment attempted to change how funding was awarded. UMass Chan received the most money of any Central Massachusetts organization in both years. Source: National Institutes of Health 122 Rooms in the Worcester hotel planned by Maryland-based White Oak Enterprises, which purchased the site of the development for $1.4 million in April. Sources: White Oak Enterprises, Worcester District Registry of Deeds Employees to be laid off at the Framingham manufacturing facility of Woburn-based drug developer Replimune, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected its cancer treatment. Source: Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act 80 $ $ $ Continued from page 3 MANUFACTURING YOUR FUTURE "POWER OF CHANGE" DCU Center, Worcester, MA REGISTER TODAY

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