Gov. Deval Patrick spent last week in California, trying to convince high-tech firms to relocate or expand in Massachusetts. At the same time, state economic development officials were also trying to sell themselves to a more local audience. The officials told a room full of developers at a NAIOP forum that growth and healthy profits lie outside Route 128, in the state’s abandoned industrial core, and that the state tk tk tk get them there.
“You are missing out if you’re not looking at this entire commonwealth,” said Bob Culver, president and CEO of MassDevelopment. “For those of you who like to make money – I think that’s a major theme in this room – you should be looking at what I call those places that are affordable, accessible, attractive, extremely innovative and open for business.”
Event organizers conceived of the forum, which pitched quick development opportunities in cities like Holyoke, Leominster, Springfield, Lawrence, Lowell, Fall River, New Bedford, Worcester, Pittsfield and Haverhill, as a way to combat prevailing negative perceptions in downtown Boston about the state’s so-called gateway cities. Patrick’s administration is trying to spur growth in the cities, which were once thriving centers of manufacturing, but have acquired reputations as rotting post-industrial lands wracked by elevated rates of unemployment and poverty.
“Typically, people hear the first part of the story – about manufacturers leaving,” said Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong. “They don’t hear the second chapter: that the assets, and the opportunities, remain.”
Administration Infighting?
The program was to have been keynoted by Dan O’Connell, but O’Connell quit his post as Patrick’s economic development secretary just days before the event. His sudden resignation, reportedly over tensions with the governor’s office, caught many on Beacon Hill by surprise. He was replaced on the NAIOP bill by Eric Nakajima, the senior policy advisor in the governor’s economic development agency.
Culver promised developers “a low-cost basis and a nice margin over time, working with people who want you to work with them. They’re looking to reinvent themselves, and really are outstanding partners. Persons with creative minds will make money.”
Holyoke, he said, is “a mill town with great bones,” with “available mill properties, cheap electricity and highway access.” Fall River is trying to build a cluster around Meditech’s $30-million headquarters, UMass-Dartmouth, and the South Coast Research and Technology Park. Lowell and Worcester are seeing some success leveraging private growth out of UMass nanotech and biotech programs. And Pittsfield, Culver said, is positioning itself for “an extraordinary transformation” once broadband is deployed up the Berkshires. The city is currently prepping a 52-acre, ready to build brownfields project on the site of an old General Electric plant.
“They need you to be out there and understand what a development opportunity this is,” Culver pleaded.
Nakajima pointed to the administration’s I-Cubed infrastructure funding, growth districts program and recently passed transportation, housing, broadband and higher education bond bills.
“We want to put state funds in the position to catalyze economic development,” Nakajima said. He said the administration looks to leverage state dollars by creating partnerships with developers and existing institutions, especially in “communities that have already done hard work around master planning, zoning reform.” A bill currently before the Legislature, which would allow cities and towns to create denser, growth-friendly zoning districts, would further streamline permitting, he said.
Patience, Patience
Berkeley Investments President Young Park stood at the front of the room and told his colleagues life does exist beyond Route 495 – as long as you’ve got patience, and access to the public purse strings. His $550 million CitySquare project in Worcester will replace much of that city’s hulking, failed mall with 2.1 million square feet of retail, residential, hotel, office and research space. And it’s only possible because of $94 million in public infrastructure commitments.
“This is the new paradigm,” he said. “It’s the only way a project of this scope will be built, at least in the foreseeable future. As a private company, there’s no way we could’ve paid for the infrastructure. We’re building new public streets.” The benefits of public-private partnerships, Park said, include the ability to execute public funds at private pricing and speed, leverage private investment from public funds, “and, eventually make some money.” He paused to explain that his secretary had taken that last point off his PowerPoint slide.
The goal, Nakajima said, is to seed cluster development through zoning and planning, and then nurture it with investments in infrastructure, education and workforce development.
“There isn’t a good understanding of the assets that exist in our regional cities,” he said afterward. “There are potentially opportunities now, and going forward, if you’re not ready now to invest in one of the gateway cities, you’re on notice that there’s an opportunity there.”
