Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com October 26, 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 37 Only time will tell if the 168-room AC Hotel by Marriott will bear all the fruit the city envisions. Adding that many rooms plus, importantly, new meeting space in a city with only five hotels and 745 rooms will clearly help – especially considering the city has less than half the hotel rooms of other midsize New England markets like Providence and Hartford – but meeting the city's demand for overnight stays is only ancillary to the larger point. Building a vibrant downtown, especially in formerly rundown or underutilized city centers, takes an incremental approach to truly build momentum. There is no magic bullet – not even a multi-million-dollar casino resort – that will suddenly revitalize everything around it in a poof of smoke. Transforming Worcester's downtown and surrounding neighborhoods into a place that is truly welcoming to visit, dine out, live and locate more businesses takes a well-thought-out plan and a series of small successes that build momentum toward that overall goal. The new hotel, and the Unum building that opened downtown in 2013, are two big pieces of the puzzle. New ownership of both surrounding office buildings also bodes well for new investment in the city's core. It also takes the right mix of small scale steps – like moving in small businesses like restaurants and retailers; making the area feel more safe with new lighting and streetscapes; embracing the unique nature of the downtown and the demographics of its residents; fixing up rundown buildings; constructing exciting new spaces; and continuing to attract outside investment. No piece of the puzzle is going to be the end-all-be-all, but each contributes to making the picture complete and fulfilling that plan. The AC Hotel is a significant part of that new picture, and the community should recognize its announcement as a harbinger of more goods things to come. It keeps the positive momentum rolling forward toward more culturally and economically vital downtown. The new hotel does not represent the only rooms coming online in the city – there is the planned 100- room Hampton Inn going in on Prescott Street and the 110-room Homewood Suites due to be constructed just a block away in Washington Square. These additional rooms clearly make up for the loss of the 243 rooms that disappeared when the Crowne Plaza closed in 2010 and was converted into dorms for the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy &Health Sciences. Over the past several years in Worcester, hotel occupancy numbers have been rising: 74 percent in 2013, 75 percent in 2014 and 78 percent so far this year. All of those numbers have beat the statewide averages, which is 71 percent this year, so clearly there is demand for more hotel rooms in Worcester. The current lack of hotel rooms and meeting spaces hurts the city's economic competitiveness, even when it is succeeding. When Destination Worcester landed the U.S. Rowing Masters National Championship for Lake Quinsigamond in 2016, the event with its 2,500 attendees marked a huge boost for the economy, but it also meant Destination Worcester has to send more than two-thirds of those people to hotels well outside of Worcester and even into Middlesex County. In 2013, Worcester County had tourism expenditures that totaled $771 million, ranking it sixth of the state's 14 counties behind Suffolk ($7.4 billion), Middlesex ($2.3 billion), Norfolk ($972 million), Barnstable ($903 million) and Essex ($780 million), according to the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism. Clearly the more Worcester and the region can do to spur visitors dollars, the more the region will qualify for in state funds to promote our many destinations. The new AC Hotel will add jobs, vitality and a sophistication to the city's downtown. The road from a stagnant to a vibrant downtown is a long and winding one, yet Worcester has been able to string together a series of wins that certainly qualify as momentum, and that is something worthy of celebrating. Plus, it never hurts to be over-enthused. n Baby steps add up in downtown Worcester 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. E conomic development assets, whether for a community or for a region, often involve unique attributes that foster commercial growth and strengthen the desirability of a location. With this in mind, having a range of transportation options continues to be vital for an area's overall appeal. It is with this framework that the current improvements underway at Fitchburg Municipal Airport are timely and will bring the facility's administration terminal up to modern standards, thus keeping the airport a competitive option for general aviation customers within north Central Massachusetts. Situated on approximately 335 acres along the Nashua River in southeastern Fitchburg, the airport has direct proximity to Route 2 and is just a short ride from Wachusett Mountain Ski Area. It is classified as a General Aviation, General Utility Stage II airport by the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS), meaning that it serves all small planes and can accommodate some larger aircraft with wingspans of less than 79 feet. The airport is home to a variety of businesses offering aviation services such as flight training, scenic flights, charter flights, aircraft maintenance and a popular airport restaurant. That said, some in the business community still may not fully appreciate the value of having a public-access airport nearby because many area residents visit the airport primarily during special festival events or to enjoy a meal at the popular restaurant. However, according to airport management, the commercial activity associated with Fitchburg Airport results in a $14 million positive economic impact for the tri-town area (Fitchburg, Leominster & Lunenburg) annually. Although a municipal airport, the Fitchburg Airport operates essentially as a separate business in that it is self-supporting and does not rely on funds from the city of Fitchburg. Of the 39 public-access airport listed by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, 15 are in need of new terminal buildings. Fitchburg Airport is fortunate to be among the first grouping of airport locations undergoing this type of physical upgrade. The new terminal, officially referred to as an administration building, had an official groundbreaking In early October. The building will include expanded space for the airport restaurant, a pilot's lounge and staff offices. In addition, the new facility will connect to municipal sewers thus eliminating the current septic system. The $4.6-million project is being funded through grants from both MassDOT and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The Fitchburg Airport Commission has plans to rebuild and lengthen the primary runway to offer more flexibility for aircraft such as corporate jets. Given that north central communities such as Fitchburg, Leominster and the Devens area are actively engaged in economic development efforts to expand current businesses, attract new commercial ventures, strengthen local tax bases and increase jobs, now is an ideal time to acknowledge the benefit of having an up-to-date general aviation airport with modern facilities to serve the region for decades to come. n Mary Jo Bohart is the economic development director for the City of Fitchburg. Fitchburg's $4.6M airport upgrade to entice business interest BY DAVID A. JORDAN Special to the Worcester Business Journal V I E W P O I N T Mar y Jo Bohar t T he hoopla surrounding this month's announcement of a $33-million, high-end luxury hotel for downtown Worcester may seem a bit overhyped, but given the step-by-step nature of economic revitalization, business and city officials have the right to be excited to get another important piece of the puzzle in place and can't be faulted for shouting their successes from the rooftops. In Staff Writer Sam Bonacci's story "High-end comes to Worcester's downtown," Tim Murray – president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce – touts the project as proof the city has a market for a luxury lifestyle while Michael Traynor – the city's chief development officer – said the site will lead to ancillary businesses like restaurants popping up around the development and linking to other up-and- coming sections of the city, like the theater district and the already vital Shrewsbury Street.

• Cover