Worcester Business Journal

Those properties were purchased as owner-occupied buildings, not invest- ment properties, with the owners recog- nizing the value of not having to con- tinue to pay rent to someone else and taking advantage of continued low inter- est rates, said Hughes who is the presi- dent of New Dover Associates, Inc. of Framingham. "These are companies that know they have a finite amount of space needs, and they want to be in a given location, and they want to buy," he said. "In the past, it was investors and users, but as the prices go up, there are more users than inves- tors in that park." Hanover expansion 10 The Hanover Theatre wants to cement Worcester' Theatre District as a visitor destination. WBJ >> To Subscribe Central Massachusetts' Source for Business News June 6, 2016 Volume 27 Number 12 www.wbjournal.com $2.00 Shop Talk 8 Q&A with Steven Rothschild, developer of the Armory Business Center The MetroWest area is a haven to millionaires, thanks to its location and amenities catering to the wealthy. Focus on MetroWest T his spring, Scott Hughes sold two properties in the Natick Business Park within weeks of each other for $3.9 million a piece. These back-to-back sales are indicative of a MetroWest market for industrial prop- erties that has seen rising rents and lower vacancy in the face of increased demand. Scott Hughes, president of New Dover Associates, Inc. of Framingham, who sells industrial parks in MetroWest >> Continued on page 14 Bankers call foul as rival credit unions look into public deposits C redit unions' market share is expanding in Massachusetts, due to what they say is a great value they can offer to consumers, but the state bankers association said it is worried that growth at credit unions is unfair to banks and against the public interest, even as banks continue to hold on to a much bigger part of the state's financial services sector. The Massachusetts Bankers Association last month released a PolEcon Research study it paid for say- ing the state's largest credit unions are growing and that their performance in low-income communities doesn't justi- fy the significant tax exemptions they receive. The number of low-income des- ignated and fed- erally chartered credit unions have increased, the study said. This is the lat- est piece in the ongoing battle over financial services between banks and credit unions and comes in the midst of a debate over the poten- tial future role of the state's 177 cred- it unions as acceptors of public deposits for cities and towns. Credit unions, nonprofit financial institutions exempt from state and fed- eral corporate taxes, are looking to break into the public deposits market, saying competition is good for every- one. Bankers argue credit unions will have an unfair advantage in the market and should pay taxes if they want to get involved with local governments. BY LAURA FINALDI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer BY SAM BONACCI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer Justine DeNorscia, senior vice president at UniBank >> Continued on page 9 12 The real estate market for industrial parks and warehouse space is heating up in MetroWest, with the Worcester market following closely behind INDUSTRIAL DEMAND P H O T O / E D D C O T E 0 $2 $4 $6 $8 $10 I-495 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 '16 Route 128 0 $2 $4 $6 $8 $10 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 '16 0 $2 $4 $6 $8 $10 Total Greater Boston 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 '16 Rent per square foot Rent per square foot Rent per square foot Source: Transwestern Rising industrial values The rent in the Greater Boston industrial real estate market, including MetroWest, has jumped in the past two years.

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