Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal • March 14, 2016 www.wbjournal.com W orcester hit the national radar recently when it landed No. 65 on the U.S. News & World Report "Best Places to Live" list. This placed the city ahead of other communi- ties such as Philadelphia and perpetual rival Providence. The ranking evaluated areas based on the factors that most people use when selecting somewhere to live: the area's value, quality of life, job market health, whether or not people want to live there and whether an area is attracting new residents. The list included the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas with Denver taking the top honors, followed by Austin, Texas and Fayettville, Ark. Portland, Maine narrowly beat out Boston as the Northeast's highest ranked area, taking the 29th spot on the list to Boston's 30th. A changing city The ranking for Worcester highlights the appealing nature of a city in the midst of sub- stantial change, said Troy Siebels, the board chair for Discover Central Massachusetts "There is this great new energy that rubs off. Part of what I love about Worcester is it is changing as you look at it. It is changing so fast," Siebels said. Siebels, who has lived in the city for the past 10 years, said he has seen an influx of younger, Millennial-age resi- dents. This new energy is rubbing off on all parts of the city and spreading through neighborhoods such as the Canal District with its nightlife and shopping and the Theatre District with innovative startup businesses and cul- tural performances. "I feel like you can help cause the change … just by being here, I feel like I am a part of that change," Siebels said. Tourism pull Siebels welcomed the publicity for the city, say- ing that it will help attract the crucial tourist popula- tion within a 100-mile radius of the city. Worcester is a great area to visit, he said, with many cultural and arts institu- tions in the city and sur- rounding area as well as sporting events. "This report gets Worcester's name out there, and for the semi-local folks, there is a recognition there is this other city worth visiting," Siebels said. n Greendale Mall's value plummets 77%, foreclosure possible The value of the Greendale Mall property in Worcester plummeted 77 percent in the last 10 years to $14.7 mil- lion, setting up a possible foreclosure. The Greendale Mall has been in financial trouble, with only an 80-per- cent occupancy rate, leading to the mall not bringing enough profits in to cover the $45 million commercial mortgage- backed securities (CMBS) loan on the property, according to Trepp, a data provider for those in the commercial real estate. That resulted in the loan being foreclosed on and sent out to special servicer C-III Asset Management in October of last year. That company recently revalued the Greendale Mall property, which is the collateral behind the loan, down to $14.7 million as part of the process to give the involved parties and any future buyer an idea of how much the prop- erty is worth. The property was valued at $65 million in 2006. Chinese industrial park moving to Marlborough A 100,000 square-foot building in Marlborough has been purchased with the intention of converting it into a space for 35 to 40 Chinese companies. "They bought a building in Marlborough, and they will bring about 35 companies over here," Nam Pham, the Baker administration's assistant secretary for business development and international trade. Speaking through an interpreter for the assembled audience of Chinese officials, Gov. Charlie Baker spoke about a Chinese railcar company estab- lishing its U.S. headquarters in Springfield last year, Chinese invest- ment in the redevelopment of Boston's Pier 4 and relatively new direct flights to Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. Virtusa becomes billion dollar company Virtusa Corporation has completed a $166 million purchase of stock, giving it a majority interest in Polaris Consulting & Services and creating a global provider of IT services to the financial industry with annual revenue of $826 million. The purchase of stock of the Indian IT company that serves the banking industry will drive the Westborough- based Virtusa to become a billion-dol- lar company and the largest provider of financial technology services in the world, according to a release from the company. This acquisition combines Virtusa's expertise in consumer and retail banking with Polaris' strength in corporate and investment banking. The combined company will be made up of over 19,000 employees and is now the preferred vendor of CitiGroup. Acupuncture school, 120 positions coming to downtown Worcester MCPHS University will bring the New England School of Acupuncture (NESA) from Newton to downtown Worcester and along with it more than 120 employees as well as 200 students and numerous clients. The school will move to the MCPHS downtown campus, according to a statement from University President Charles F. Monahan Jr. The move would bring the school's numerous stu- dents and clients downtown. "We are focusing on downtown Worcester as the place for the future growth of MCPHS University. We are also excited to play a part in the revital- ization of downtown Worcester," Monahan said. Renovations to the building at 19 Norwich Street are scheduled to be completed by July 2016 to be ready for the fall 2016 semester. Boston Scientific co-founder Nicholas to retire A major milestone has come for Boston Scientific as co-founder and chairman of the board Pete Nicholas has announced he will retire at the company's annual meeting in May amid further board member shifts. Nicholas served as the Marlborough medical company's chief executive offi- cer and co-chairman of the board since its founding in 1979. In 1995, Nicholas stepped down as CEO and became the company's chairman. The board has appointed the com- pany's president and CEO Michael Mahoney to serve as chairman of the board upon Nocholas' retirement. Current director Edward Ludwig will serve as lead independent director. Fallon Health names permanent CEO The board of Fallon Health has voted to make the interim CEO and president roles currently held by Richard Burke permanent. Burke has held the interim roles at the Worcester insurance provider since September, following the retirement of W. Patrick Hughes. Burke has been with Fallon since 1998 and done an excellent job of lead- ing the company in the interim roles of CEO and president, according to David W. Hillis, chairman of Fallon's board of directors. "He acted swiftly and intelligently on opportunities and challenges, worked tirelessly to keep the organization focused and moving forward, and became even more engaged in Worcester, Lowell, Springfield and other key communities that Fallon serves," he said of Burke. REGIONAL BRIEFS Verbatim "We believe it's the role of government to provide public safety for all its citi- zens, and we think we do that with this background check." State Rep. Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston) on potentially requiring fingerprinting for Uber and Lyft drivers. >> "Massachusetts companies are tak- ing advantage of the business opportuni- ties that exist in the data space, as seen by the across-the-board growth in new businesses, funding and patents." Pat Larkin, director of the Innovation Institute at MassTech, on big data, with more than $2.4 billion invested in Massachusetts companies in the last two years. >> "This action comes down to recognizing the value of the job we do in educating our students, improv- ing the conditions under which we work, and the active role we must play in the decision- making process." Bill Marx, a senior lecturer in the College of Arts and Sciences' Writing Program, talking about why a number of Boston University educators were seeking to unionize. >> In Review CENTRALMASS >> Continued on next page Worcester gets national recognition BY SAM BONACCI Worcester Business Journal Digital Editor

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