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wbjournal.com | Fact Book 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 7 R E G I O N S G r e a t e r W o r c e s t e r We start with what's in your heart. Not what's in your bank account. Leominster Worcester Fitchburg Gardner Shirley Barre Millbury Paxton Princeton For most banks the bo omline is all numbers, but it is the needs and wants of your business that are our greatest assets. Because it is only by understanding your hopes and dreams that we can help you build las ng solu ons to take your business from point A to point wherever-you-want-to-be. Because to us our clients are way more than just numbers. So we design way more than just financial products. This is what we call, LifeDesign. It's in everything that we do. What's in your heart? Speak with any of our Small Business Specialists or Branch Managers today. 800.581.5363 fidelitybankonline.com $30B 2013 $20B $10B $0 2014 2015 2016 2017 $26.1M $23.9B $23.3B Combined total property value Source: Mass. Department of Revenue Community Avg. net worth Residents average net worth Paxton $1,515,639 Holden $1,395,707 Hardwick $1,321,312 Boylston $1,286,320 Shrewsbury $1,234,355 West Boylston $1,217,221 New Braintree $1,044,270 Oakham $976,428 Rutland $974,970 Auburn $967,825 Leicester $762,644 Worcester $307,005 Sources: Esri's Updated Demographics, 2017 estimates, Esri Tapestry Segmentation, www.esri.com well as 264 residences. Auburn is creating a new develop- ment plan for Drury Square, the area around the Auburn Mall now featuring wide roadways and few pedestrian ame- nities, that may call for mixed-use zon- ing and a more traditional town center development scale. A new economic development plan and master plan are in the works as the town strives to hold on to existing businesses and find development in the right places, Town Manager Julie Jacobson said. "There's a lot of competition for busi- ness," Jacobson said. Auburn offers an example of an asset practically any community would want, with easy access to several high- ways, but isn't sitting still. The town has invested heavily in roadway infra- structure, Jacobson said, and holds a quarterly business roundtable with owners and managers of companies in different sectors. Moving in the right direction Worcester's bid for Amazon is a long- shot – the city doesn't appear on any list forecasting where the company will land – but Worcester's attempt gets the city's name before planners and pitches a developable site on Route 20. Murray points to an example: Worcester missed out on landing Genzyme a few decades ago, but ended up landing the German chemical com- pany BASF on the same site. That spot is now the 400,000-square- foot home of AbbVie, one of the city's largest employers. Pharmaceutical researcher AbbVie has 900 employees in the science park near UMass Memorial's hospital campus, making the company the 43rd largest employer in Central Massachusetts. W