Friday, March 27, 2009

Formula big box stores impact mitigation

Cross-posted from Dennis

I realize we're pretty far down that road here in town (there's a pun there somewhere with all the roads ;) but given the issues with Lowes and the like, some ideas ...

Link

Story

Paper

The other thing you realize is - the impact of empty boxes. Take a look around on Rt 12. There are risks for building these ugly monstrosities if/when they go out of business. We need to be in it for the long haul and respect the branding/look of the town in planning.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Gateway Partners success story

Nice story in the Worcester Business Journal about Gateway park. My alma mater WPI is a major tenant in the complex and now - they need to expand! Jim McGovern was integral in obtaining federal money to help with the development of the place - think it was a brownfield also - toxic site that they helped rehab into a state of the art biotech area.

And - check out the additional tax money they generate for the city each year! Auburn would be well-served by a project like this, I'm thinking particularly in the area of the new "gateway highway district" or whatever down on Rt 12.

The results include an MBI business incubator facility and the tenancy of both RXI Pharmaceuticals and Blue Sky Biotech in the WPI building. Today, 226 people work in its various companies and academic units. The building is bursting at the seams, and additional facilities are needed for expansion of the growing life science companies—facilities that pay property taxes. This year, Gateway Park will pay Worcester nearly $300,000 in property taxes.