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March 20, 2017
Briefing

Four new plans for vacant Worcester courthouse

Grant Welker

A $35-million proposal for the former Worcester County Courthouse calls for 300 market-rate apartments in two new buildings and a reuse of the 1800s court building with office and retail space.

  • Meetings Guide & Golf Directory
    Meetings Guide & Golf Directory

    View events as investments

    Catherine Leiras

    Every organization regardless of size, industry or location will host a meeting or event. This may be as simple as internal meetings within your office in a conference room or external meeting in a hotel or conference meeting space.

  • Crust's new owner seeks to elevate Worcester's bread game

    Laura Finaldi

    As a first-time business owner, Alexis Kelleher has her sights set on maintaining the quality Crust has cultivated, and on selling to more area restaurants.

  • Incorporations

    These businesses incorporated with the Massachusetts Secretary of State's Office from Jan. 17-31. Listed are corporate name, address and president.

  • Page One Story
    Page One Story

    Mercantile Center replacing long-dead Worcester Galleria

    Grant Welker

    New spaces along the edges of the center's towers are envisioned as restaurants and other retail uses that will enliven a development with 642,000 square feet of space – almost 30 percent of which is vacant.

  • Opinion
    Opinion

    Mass. should wait on $2K business healthcare assessment

    Eileen Mcanneny

    Quite simply, the fair share assessment is the wrong solution for taming growth in MassHealth, which now insures almost 2 million residents or 30 percent of the commonwealth's total population.

  • The Rainmaker
    The Rainmaker

    How to optimize your trade show investment

    Trade shows are an integral part of the marketing strategy for some industries and companies. Frequently though, I hear unhappy comments about the return on the investment for exhibiting in a trade show.

  • Fresh Beginnings

    Worcester Credit Union and Quinsigamond Community College have teamed up to provide job and financial literacy training to help the long-term unemployed in the community.

  • Meetings Guide & Golf Directory
    Meetings Guide & Golf Directory

    Great Wolf Lodge anchors Fitchburg's tourist economy

    Laura Finaldi

    Since it opened in May 2014, the city of Fitchburg has generated nearly $2 million in hotel occupancy tax from Great Wolf Lodge, including just over $1 million in 2016 alone.

  • Golf tournaments

    MAY A list of upcoming Central Massachusetts tournaments.Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball Gold Championship Date: May 22-23 Location: Red Tail Golf Club & Shaker Hills

  • Meetings Guide & Golf Directory
    Meetings Guide & Golf Directory

    Central Mass. golf courses adapt to changing demands

    Livia Gershon

    Economic downturns cut into players' disposable income, and the Great Recession caused many Boomers to put off their retirement plans, forcing courses to adapt to changing demands.

  • Editorial
    Editorial

    Editorial: Striking while the iron is hot

    Much work remains, but today's momentum in Worcester is real, and it bodes well for the entire region.

  • Shop Talk
    Shop Talk

    Plotting your escape at Escape Games Worcester

    In just over a year since clients started paying Jason Eastty to lock them in rooms with creative puzzle-solving required to exit, he has hosted corporate groups with 270 people, bachelor parties and one failed marriage proposal.

  • Years of losses make local insurers attractive to larger companies

    Emily Micucci

    With court decisions blocking mergers of the nation's top health insurers, it's likely those companies will look to acquire smaller players.

  • Opinion
    Opinion

    Mass. needs to update alcohol laws

    Deborah B. Goldberg

    Our state's alcohol statutes, which were put in place in 1933, lack the cohesiveness that businesses and the ABCC require to operate efficiently and effectively.

  • Advice
    Advice

    10 things I know about ... Entrepreneurs using time wisely

    Michael Gladstone

    10) 15 minutes the night before saves you two hours the next day!

  • Accolades & Honors

    Gardner's Heywood Healthcare honored James and Asta Kraskouskas, owners of Anthony's Liquor Mart in Gardner, with the Heywood Healthcare Community Health Hero Award, for their constant support of

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Today's Poll

Should Massachusetts significantly reduce the environmental review time for new housing projects?
Poll Description

In an effort to increase the pace of new housing development in Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey has proposed streamlining the environmental review process for certain new housing projects, with the goal of reducing the time spent on the process from about one year to 30 days. Environmental reviews are a hallmark of community planning, to ensure new development doesn't negatively impact surrounding properties or natural resources, even though the process does add significant time and often cost to projects. Healey's proposal comes after Massachusetts fell behind the national average in new housing production, despite adding 90,000 new units since she became governor in 2023.

New England already averages the longest timeline in the nation to build a single-family home once the developer has been giving the authorization to move forward with construction, according to U.S. Census statistics compiled by the National Association of Home Builders. In 2023, single-family homes in New England averaged 13.9 months from permit to completion. The South Atlantic states have the lowest average of 8.9 months while the region that includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana is the second quickest at 9.4 months. The second-longest average after New England is the New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania region, which takes 13.2 months.

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