Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/903631
8 Worcester Business Journal | Fact Book 2017 | wbjournal.com M e t r o W e s t R E G I O N S MetroWest: At a glance Largest employer Dell Technologies (EMC Corp.), Hopkinton 9,000 local employees Largest chamber of commerce MetroWest Chamber of Commerce 578 members Biggest bank Bank of America $2.3B in deposits Biggest college Framingham State University 3,688 full-time students, fall 2017 Largest meeting venue Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center Accommodates 1,500 guests banquet style Average median age 43.2 Sources: Worcester Business Journal surveys of area businesses, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) as of June 30, 2017, Esri's Updated Demographics, 2017 estimates, Esri Tapestry Segmentation, www.esri.com BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor MetroWest has long served as a suburban area to New England's two biggest cities, but corporate offices and community efforts are making the region a hub in its own right Growing between Boston and Worcester M etroWest has attributes nearly any suburban area would take in a heartbeat: headquarters for several international companies, access to one the country's largest and most thriving urban markets, and clusters of wealthy neighborhoods. That doesn't mean that the region between Boston and Worcester isn't striving for more. Like any other area in or just outside Boston, it struggles with transportation challenges, from backups on the Massachusetts Turnpike and I-495 to delays on the commuter rail. MetroWest attracts companies wanting to be close to the area's talented workforce but also fights to keep businesses from the draw of tech hubs in Boston and Cambridge. Whether MetroWest is drawing more of those companies or in danger of los- ing them, the picture isn't so simple, said Paul Joseph, the president and CEO of the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce. "It's more complex than that," he said. "It comes down to business model." Creating a community Many of the region's largest and best-known companies – TJX, Staples, Boston Scientific, BJ's Wholesale Club and others – are located in office com- plexes elatively removed from their surroundings, at odds with a trend of building neighborhoods where people can work, live and eat. That could change, Joseph said. Plans have been discussed to build housing in areas such as the Framingham area where Bose, Sanofi Genzyme and others have offices, he said. There hasn't yet been a new dense housing-and-retail development like Assembly Row in Somerville. "It's being done in pockets," Joseph said. Continued on Page 11 GE Healthcare Life Sciences opened its $27-million headquarters in Marlborough in 2016. P H O T O / M A T T W R I G H T