Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 23, 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 21 Adding the steak to Worcester's sizzle The Worcester Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Please send submissions to Brad Kane, editor, at bkane@wbjournal.com. A t a 2016 energy forum hosted by The New England Council, Gordon van Welie, CEO of ISO New England – our region's power grid operator – described New England's electric reliability this coming winter as precarious. Van Welie warned, with more power plants closing down and the strain on available natural gas supplies for heating and electric generation unrelenting, by 2019 keeping the lights on in extreme cold weather threatens to become unsustainable. The situation is all the more chal- lenging when you consider our region has no native sources of gas, oil or coal, and little opportunity for adding large-scale local hydroelectric power. New England pays markedly more for energy relative to the rest of the country because we are at the end of the pipeline for energy supply. This affects the region's economic competitiveness both for businesses choosing to locate or expand here and for their employees and the energy bills they pay. For many busi- nesses, high energy costs are the No. 1 challenge to suc- ceeding, growing and adding jobs in New England. In the coming months and years, policymakers face challenging, interrelated and far-reaching decisions about how the region meets its future power needs and environ- mental policy mandates, from what energy sources, and at what cost for businesses and consumers across the region. The New England Council published a report, "The New England Energy Landscape: History, Challenges, and Outlook," that aims to offer an impartial, unbiased explanation of the issues facing policymakers. On questions about natural gas supplies, imported hydro, renewables, nuclear power, and more, the council doesn't take sides. But three key points from the report we want to stress to policymakers: • All these energy decisions are tightly interrelated, far more so than many may realize. Promoting more energy from one source for cost or environmental reasons will affect the economics and viability of every other kind of energy. That in turn will affect how we meet 2020 and 2050 emissions mandates – and at what cost. • Given our six states share a single power grid, policy goals in any one New England state will undoubtedly impact its neighbors. Massachusetts' and Rhode Island's desire for more wind energy may require new transmis- sion lines in Vermont and Maine; Maine's and New Hampshire's desire for greater gas supplies may require gas pipelines in Connecticut and Massachusetts. • Rather than approaching questions about renewables, gas, nuclear or imported hydro as one-off choices that end at state borders, we encourage our region's leaders and energy stakeholders to take a more comprehensive, holistic approach to tackling our energy challenges. James T. Brett is the president & CEO of The New England Council. Energy challenges need comprehensive approach W orcester's restaurants – both the old and the new – have created a palpable buzz, with foodies and chefs from Boston and New York City taking notice. This food renaissance represents not only a big leap forward in branding for city, but it's also helping to spur further economic development with outside investments and an inevitable growth in visi- tors to the city. The downtown dining buzz, though, is the start of larger development wave, as restaurateurs are anticipating the increased traffic that will be com- ing from office and retail development at places like the Mercantile Center, new residential develop- ments like City Square, and from new lodging like the AC Hotel by Marriott and Homewood Suites by Hilton. While the growth in restaurants is an encouraging beginning, it is important that the city and business leaders keep the momentum going by supporting these new projects through their com- pletion and encouraging new and complementary investment in surrounding properties. This includes delivering real value on the planned $9-million streetscape upgrade along Main Street, and resolving the future of Notre Dame des Canadiens Church, which despite its iconic stature has not attracted sufficient developer interest to restore or reuse the structure. In addition, Discover Central Massachusetts, the group tasked with pro- moting the region and bringing visitors in to feed the recent new business expansion must have the necessary funding for its operations to fully lever- age Worcester's opportunity. With some 400 hotel rooms coming online in the city alone in 2017, visi- tor promotion can't be operating on a shoestring budget. As long as the dual tax rate causes such a disparity for commercial properties, Worcester must find a way to offer tax incentives for small and midsize businesses to invest. Worcester does not need another mega project – it needs small business people to be confident enough to take the risk and build or restore existing properties. Doing one of these things well will not be enough, it will take good execution on a number of fronts to set the stage for a period of sustained development. More foot traffic in the city is a must, whether they be students, new residents living downtown, visitors coming to dine, employees coming to work or tourists coming to lodge, Worcester needs to full mix to reach the next level. Revitalization efforts can be full of fits and starts, as individual projects are subject to the skills of developers and the whims of the economy. In December, the redevelopment of the 246,000-square-foot Worcester County Courthouse, which was due to sell for $1.2 million to a New Hampshire developer, had fallen through. In years past, a development failure like that would dig into the psyche of the city and seem to reinforce that Worcester was a tough place to be a successful investor. The momentum of recent years has made that project's delay feel more like a blip on the radar, and the property is back on the selling block and being marketed by the city. The feeling is more "Ok, who's next?" than "Oh no, not again!" V I E W P O I N T E D I T O R I A L BY JAMES T. BRETT Special to the Worcester Business Journal James T. Brett W W WO R D F R O M T H E W E B Comments of the issue "The infrastructure to access the airport needs to be completed, otherwise it makes no sense for a manufacturer to locate." - Anonymous poll commenter, Jan. 10, on whether Worcester's industrial space is befitting modern manufacturing needs "We have a long way to go with this economy. It has been a struggle for the past eight years. I feel much more hopeful with the Trump Administration managing the country." - Anonymous poll commenter, Jan. 17, on whether Worcester's economy has turned the corner Tweets of the week "@FLEXcon @WBJournal saw that fine bit of fine community work you guys participated in. Great work!" - Mirabizzle (@Matt_Mirabello), Jan. 18, on Spencer manufacturer FLEXcon helping with an EcoTarium exhibit WBJ Facebook feedback "All I have to say is WOW!!!" - Machado Consulting, Jan 13, on WBJ readers picking the firm as the Best of Business for IT services

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