Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com March 30, 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 37 The deal to sell the 260,000-square-foot courthouse for $1.2 million — pending City Council approval — to New Hampshire developer Brady Sullivan Properties is another big piece of the downtown puzzle that is being addressed successfully. The developer plans to convert the historic structure into 115 apartments and 3,000 square feet of retail space, adding to the momentum of the former Worcester Vocational Technical High School's transformation into the Voke Lofts apartment complex last year by Winn Development. Just blocks away, Winn Development made yet another investment in Worcester this month with an agreement to buy the former Unum Group building on Chestnut Street, where it's studying the feasibility of converting the underutilized space into college classrooms and student housing. And most recently, the City Council approved a longstanding effort to develop a new 600-unit apartment complex on Franklin Street bordering Union Station and the Canal District. Add these newly announced development agreements to the three hotels planned for the downtown area — including a coveted 4-star site within the CitySquare development (See our story on Page 9) — and it's clear that, finally, private developers are recognizing the potential for healthy returns on their investments over the next several years. Those that gambled that a huge public investment in the downtown would spurn a much higher degree of private investment have waited a long time for the payoff. But here it comes, and it's great to see. Sure, there's more work to do, especially the area downtown around The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, which the city hopes will provide a core for a broader theater district. Heather Gould, chief of staff for the city's economic development office, also cited efforts to find developers for such underutilized buildings as the Midtown Mall on Front Street. Then, a half-mile southeast, there's the Canal District, where restaurants, bars and clubs have made the area livelier during evenings and weekends. Between downtown and the Canal District, the 14-acre Wyman-Gordon property on Madison Street has also become a top priority, Gould said. Interest among developers "kind of ebbs and flows," she said. But Gould hopes that with the increased interest and action in the downtown area, "there will be more of an emphasis on downtown development." While the city and Worcester Business Development Corp. deserve credit for launching the transformation and igniting interest, the increased investment from private developers is the real payoff, and we hope this month's announcements will lead to more. Q Developers' interest in Worcester a positive step E D I T O R I A L The Worcester Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Please send submissions to Rick Saia, editor, at rsaia@wbjournal.com. Letters can also be faxed to 508-755-8860. T ime and time again, data have shown that when a film production shoots in a particular location, it not only creates economic impacts, the finished product can also create significant spinoff economic impacts in the form of "film tourism," also known as "movie induced" or "film induced" tourism. That means a site that has been featured on television, video or cinema itself attracts tourists. This has been demonstrated in several research reports over the last 20 years. Interestingly, the White House's tourism strategy for the U.S. doesn't mention film-inspired tourism. Nevertheless, it's a growing phenomenon worldwide, driven by the growth and ubiquity of the entertainment industry and an increase in international travel. That's why Massachusetts should not phase out its film tax credit, as Gov. Charlie Baker is proposing in his fiscal year 2016 budget. Rather, hs should maintain it to boost not just the film production industry but also film tourism. As long ago as 1998, The Annals of Tourism Research noted that locations where successful films had been shot demonstrated an average 54 percent increase in tourism visits four years after shooting. And in a report produced for the New Mexico Film Office in 2009, Ernst & Young said that every dollar spent in the state to produce a film returned $2.50 for the tourism sector. There are several recent examples of film tourism success, such as: Rabun County, Ga. Despite negative stereotypes generated by the 1972 film "Deliverance," the Rabun County Convention and Visitors Bureau says more than a quarter-million people flock to the area each year to shoot the same rapids they saw come to life on the big screen. The film helped create the $20 million rafting and outdoor sports industry along the Chattooga River. County officials say tourism brings in $42 million a year, a huge surplus for a county whose annual operating budget is about $17 million. London. Film London, a city agency, reports that films and television programs depicting the U.K. are responsible for attracting about 1 in 10 overseas tourists, who spend around $2.65 billion a year, and it estimates that approximately 28 million visitors visit Britain each year after viewing the country on the screen. Film tourism is already being commercially exploited by film-themed entertainment parks such as the Disney World and Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. By capturing people's interest, engagement and immersion in the movies, 2011 revenue for NBCUniversal's theme parks business rose 24 percent to $2 billion. At the national, regional and city levels, film tourism is being formally explored and exploited by places as diverse as New Zealand, the United Kingdom and North Carolina. As we who argue the value of the film industry in Massachusetts and the preservation of the tax credit to the Baker administration, there must also be recognition of the opportunities presented by film tourism, and the need to continue to invest in it. No one can guarantee a "Harry Potter" or "Twilight" legacy for Massachusetts, but you can guarantee that without a film industry, we will not have film tourism.Q Anton Nel is CEO of Mass Studios, a film production studio under development in Worcester. Film tax credit helps lift tourism BY ANTON NEL Special to the Worcester Business Journal V I E W P O I N T Anton Nel W ith their recently announced agreement to sell the old Worcester County Courthouse, officials in Worcester have removed a large obstacle toward the city's goal of giving the downtown area new life. Recent announcements of several developments move the city closer to its goal of having a walkable, multi-use urban core. Thankfully, we folded our hand A s Massachusetts edges closer to the opening of its first gambling facility later this year, the Plainville slots parlor, Connecticut lawmakers want to up the ante to counter the Bay State's declaration of "economic war" by competing directly with its southern neighbor. Connecticut is considering a bill that would allow the two federally recognized Native American tribes who run their major gambling facilities to open up to three jointly-run casinos in the Nutmeg State, a clear response to counter a potential loss of gambling revenue. The bill would specfically open the door to a casino in the Hartford area, just minutes down Interstate 91 from Springfield, where developers this month broke ground on an $800 million development that will likely be the Bay State's first resort casino. Although the casino industry appears to be suffering from geographic saturation, Connecticut appears to be misdirecting its legislative energy, while the casinos appear to be fighting it out for shrinking shares of gambling revenue. The outcome will not be pretty. We can be thankful that Central Massachusetts, which shut the door on several casino efforts, won't have any chips on the table in this game. Q

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