Worcester Business Journal

City Manager Eric Batista discusses housing production, stretch codes, commercial growth, and the pressure points shaping Worcester's next phase of development PHOTO | MATT WRIGHT F O C U S REAL ESTATE Balancing Worcester's development A s Worcester navigates a wave of housing con- struction, commercial expansion, and shiing economic conditions, City Manager Eric Batista has focused on striking a balance: encouraging devel- opment while ensuring projects benefit residents and strengthen Worcester's long-term economic base. What development projects are you most excited about? On the commercial side, Gre- enTech Park is probably the most exciting project for us right now. It's not very oen you have 50 acres of land ready for development. We're building the streets, putting in the infrastructure, and there's one po- tential business already very close to locating there. Commercial development is really important to me right now, especially around life sciences and biomanu- facturing. We need to find ways to encourage those industries to come to Worcester because we need jobs. Worcester cannot become a bedroom community. On the residential side, we have several downtown projects moving forward, conversations continuing in the ballpark district, and SMC Man- agement's apartments are under con- struction at the old Table Talk Pie property. e City Council approved a tax-increment financing incentive for GFI Partners' second residential project in the Canal District, which was important for us. Average rents in Worcester have fallen for two consecutive quarters. Is the housing affordability crisis easing? Rent dropping is connected to several things happening at once, including inflation and broader eco- nomic pressures, but also the amount of housing we've been able to develop in the city. In some ways, it's a positive sign. It helps stabilize rents, creates more competition, and gives people more options. At the same time, we're watching it closely because developers are watching it closely. ose rent trends directly affect whether projects pencil out financially. Developers building housing are constantly looking at those numbers and adjusting their pro formas accordingly. The City appeared to be moving to- ward pausing its specialized stretch codes but decided to continue on with the heavier eco-friendly en- forcement. What happened there? We took time to review the policies we had in place and initially felt there might be an opportunity to opt out. Aer the council discussion, our solicitor dug deeper into the reg- ulations and reviewed state law. She reached out to both the Attor- ney General's Office and the state Department of Energy Resources to confirm whether the three-year provision applied to communities that had opted into the specialized stretch code. Once we confirmed that it did ap- ply, we realized Worcester would need to remain in the program for at least three years before opting out. As soon as we had that information, we wanted to communicate it quickly. I take responsibility for making sure we cross every t and dot every i before bringing something to the council. Everyone involved learned from the process. Going forward, councilors and departments alike will make sure they're doing their due diligence be- fore decisions like that move forward. Has Worcester found the right balance between encouraging development and maximizing community benefits? We try very hard to strike that balance. We want economic growth be- cause it allows us to generate the tax levy necessary to provide services to residents. At the same time, there are pressure points in the market impact- ing whether developers can realisti- cally come into Worcester and build projects. Sometimes people see a tax incen- tive and get frustrated. ey see a developer receiving a 50% tax break and ask why the City would do that. You have to look at the bigger picture. If an empty lot is generating $4,000 or $5,000 a year in taxes and then becomes a developed property gener- ating $100,000 annually, that's still a significant gain for the City even if it's not the theoretical maximum without the tax incentive. How does the Affordable Housing Trust Fund play in Worcester's housing strategy? e Affordable Housing Trust Fund has been a huge success for the city. It has helped drive hundreds of millions of dollars in investment and supported the creation of a significant number of housing units. e Community Preservation Act continues feeding the fund, along with payments-in-lieu from devel- opers under inclusionary zoning requirements. When developers choose to pay 14 Worcester Business Journal | May 18, 2026 | wbjournal.com Now in his fourth year as Worcester's city manager, Eric Batista is looking to build on rising interest in com- mercial and residential development.

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