Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1546944
wbjournal.com | October 5, 2026 | Worcester Business Journal 5 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, 446 Main St, Suite 201, Worcester, MA 01608. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2026. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, 446 Main St, Suite 201, Worcester, MA 01608. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $100.00. For more information, please email circulation@nebusinessmedia.com or contact our circulation department at 508-755-8004 x242. Advertising: For advertising information, please call Kris Prosser at 508-755-8004 ext. 286. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 446 Main St, Suite 201, Worcester, MA 01608 508-755-8004 tel. • www.wbjournal.com Worcester Business Journal WBJ A division of: Editor, Mark Conti, mconti@wbjournal.com Managing Editor, Eric Casey, ecasey@wbjournal.com (real estate, banking & finance) Contributors Sloane M. Perron, Sara Bedigian, Emily Micucci, Livia Gershon, Monica Benevides Photographers Matt Wright, Edd Cote, Christine Peterson Research Director Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com General Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Account Executive Jeff Swerdlick, jswerdlick@wbjournal.com Special Product Manager Regina Stillings rstillings@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Finance, Sara Ward, sward@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Clerk, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Event Coordinator Patty Harris, pattyh@wbjournal.com Director of Audience Development and Operations, Leah Allen, lallen@nebusinessmedia.com Business Office Assistant Nicole Dunn, ndunn@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher and CEO, Tom Curtin tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com Chief Operating Officer Andrea Tetzlaff, atetzlaff@mainebiz.biz Publisher Emeritus, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Worcester aims to boost GreenTech Park development with tax break zone Worcester has designated 30 acres of GreenTech Park as a tax incre- ment financing zone, positioning the former Saint-Gobain campus for future manufacturing and commercial development. e Worcester City Council ap- proved the zone designation Sept. 22 following a favorable recommenda- tion from its Economic Development Committee. e zone covers land along Interstate 190 within the 51- acre GreenTech Park campus in the Greendale neighborhood. e action does not provide a tax break to a developer or tenant. Instead, it allows City Manager Eric Batista to negotiate future tax increment financing agreements for projects within the zone, according to the resolution. Any future agreement would require City Council approval and would establish project-specific terms, including the extent and duration of any property-tax exemption. e resolution identifies commer- cial development and advanced man- ufacturing as intended uses for the site. It cites job creation, expansion of Worcester's commercial tax base, and broader economic growth as reasons for establishing the zone. e Worcester Business Devel- opment Corp. acquired the former Saint-Gobain campus in November 2022. e quasi-public economic development organization has been preparing the property for redevelop- ment through environmental cleanup, utility and infrastructure upgrades, and the construction of new public roadways. WBDC said in a Wednesday announcement that the TIF designa- tion will give the 30-acre portion of the site a more competitive tax rate for prospective manufacturers. e organization said the incentive could help GreenTech Park compete with locations in surrounding communities and other states with lower tax rates. Craig Blais, WBDC president, said in the announcement the designation moves the property closer to being ready for development and could help attract investment and jobs to the city. GreenTech Park is marketed as a pad-ready industrial site with parcels able to accommodate buildings rang- ing from 60,000 to 450,000 square feet. e site has access to I-190 through a full-diamond interchange, according to WBDC. e lone tenant for GreenTech Park so far is New York-based Restau- rant Depot, which is planning a 50,000-square-foot wholesale ware- house. Worcester, the WBDC, and union representatives signed a community benefit agreement for the 51-acre development in February. Two industrial outdoor storage sites sell for combined $7.7M A Maryland-based real estate in- vestment has purchased two industrial outdoor storage sites in North Central Massachusetts for a combined $7.7 million. Realterm, a firm with $14.4 billion in assets under management, pur- chased 15 Westford Road in Ayer and 27 Cook St. in Devens on Sept. 22, according to Worcester District Registry of Deeds records. e property at 15 Westford Road in Ayer sold for $3.15 million, while 27 Cook St. was sold for $4.55 million. Both selling entities are managed by J. Paul Routhier of Ayer. e site on Westford Street is 3.5 acres and contains an 8,200-square- foot maintenance facility with four drive-thru bays and an on-site refueling station, according to an announcement from Realterm. e site was assessed at $897,200 this fiscal year, according to town of Ayer prop- erty records. e Cook Street property is a 6.75- acre site with a 12,000-square-foot maintenance facility featuring one drive-thru bay. e site was assessed at $1.1 million in 2026, according to Devens Enterprise Commission property records. Realterm said both the location and the limited supply of industrial out- door storage sites in the area were the reasons behind the purchase. e two properties are about 4.5 miles apart. "ese properties are well-posi- tioned within one of the region's strongest distribution submarkets and offer highly functional improvements that support the efficient operations today's tenants seek," Nick Dupuis, vice president, investments, North- east region at Realterm, said in the announcement. "Given the limited supply of functional (industrial out- door storage) maintenance facilities in this market, we view these properties as key additions to our portfolio." James Keogh of 128 CRE in Newton was the sole broker for both transactions. "Industrial outdoor storage proper- ties with this combination of acreage and existing maintenance facilities are difficult to replicate in this market," Keogh said in an announcement. Outdoor storage sites are one of the fastest-growing property types in the industrial real estate space, accord- ing to New York-based credit rating agency KBRA. 65 affordable housing units proposed in Devens land sale A Newton nonprofit plans to purchase a 6.6-acre parcel at Adams Circle in Devens to build 65 affordable A new tax increment financing zone passed by the Worcester City Council seeks to boost development of the Worcester Business Development Corp.'s GreenTech Park campus. PHOTO | COURTESY OF WBDC continues on page 6