Central Mass. set to cash in on $500M economic development program
PHOTO/EDD Cote
The MassWorks Infrastructure Program gave Worcester $2 million to upgrade Quinsigamond Avenue in order to improve the roadway from Route 146 to downtown.
PHOTO/EDD Cote
Worcester officials see the improvements to Quinsigamond Avenue using $2 million in MassWorks funding as an important part of the downtown revitalization effort.
As the dust settles from the 2016 state legislative session, Central Massachusetts appears poised to benefit again from a growing and efficient initiative to make the region more attractive to businesses – the MassWorks Infrastructure Program.
“The MassWorks program is among the most comprehensive and streamlined funding grants the state offers, and we are proud of work we have accomplished with local partners across the commonwealth,” said Jay Ash, secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, which administers the program.
MassWorks is a funding program that consolidated administration of six other grant programs in order to provide efficient access grant funding to municipalities and other eligible public entities for infrastructure projects to support economic development and job creation and retention, housing development and transportation improvements such as roadways, streetscapes and water systems, investing more than $357 million since 2011. The concept was developed under former Gov. Deval Patrick, but its annual funding has increased more than 50 percent since Gov. Charlie Baker took office.
“I really love MassWorks,” said Wendy Wiiks, grant administrator for Leominister. “We really understood the process from the beginning … It is one of the best programs I’ve ever worked with in terms of process.”
Central Mass. funding
Baker initial budget proposal in January for fiscal 2017 called for $500 million over five years for MassWorks. As the legislative session wound down, that figure looked to be $330 million over three years, but – either way – that represented an increase of 18 to 30 percent in funding for the program.
That increase came after fiscal 2016 itself was a big boost over the $66.8 million in fiscal 2015.
(Editor's Update: The legislature ended passing $500 million in funding for the MassWorks program.)
“I am a fan [of MassWorks],” said Heather Gould, chief of staff for the economic development officer in Worcester. “You are able to develop a good working relationship…with the same staff. You are familiar with what the state is looking for.”
Worcester has benefitted from three different rounds of MassWorks funding supporting urban revitalization projects such as the City Square project and a multi-phase rebuild of parts of Main Street. Worcester has received $27.3 million in MassWorks funding to support the $565 million CitySquare project, along with $2 million to help the flow of traffic along Quinsigamond Avenue toward downtown.
“MassWorks allows municipalities to leverage state funding to unlock significant private investment, pursuing strategic infrastructure improvements that support long-term, sustainable economic prosperity,” Ash said.
MassWorks awarded $85.6 million for 46 communities in fiscal 2015 out of more than $245 million in infrastructure requests, including about $16 million to Central Massachusetts.
The $16 million Central Massachusetts has received represents a significant share of the MassWorks budget, especially considering, each year, MassWorks allocates 10 percent of the awarded funds to assist municipalities with populations of 7,000 or less for roadway safety and transportation improvement projects.
Simple math says of the $85.6 million, MassWorks budget this year, $8.56 million is allocated to those towns of 7,000 or less, leaving about $77 million in the MassWorks general pool.
So, $16 million for Central Massachusetts represents nearly 21 percent of the available funds.
Small-town love
Before MassWorks, lightly-staffed towns faced the complex challenge of learning and understanding what programs were available and the application and selection criteria process, said Larry Casassa, director of community development in Fitchburg.
“It absolutely makes the funding more accessible for smaller towns,” he said.
Fitchburg used MassWorks funding to rebuild its River Street corridor to improve walkability, bicycle access, and gave the area a different feel.
“Massworks funding was a game changer,” said Mary Jo Bohart, director of economic development in Fitchburg. It is “a very important catalyst in economic development.”
Wiiks, of Leominster, said MassWorks has been democratic in its awards, enabling economic development throughout Massachusetts.
“They have done a good job spreading it around the state,” Wiiks said. Massworks is “on our list or favored programs.”
The increase in funding this year will be crucial to support more economic development projects, Casassa said.
“It is about rebuilding our older cities and towns,” Casassa said. “We used to have a number of different programs, all had slightly different criteria for funding… MassWorks simplifies the process.”
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments