Worcester’s Missed Business Opportunity

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Ashley Klann, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

SInce 1994, millions of taxpayers dollars have been spent on a revitalization project that has produced no visible impact. The lots are still vacant and decaying. Since start of the South Worcester Industrial Park (SWIP), the project has cost the city millions of dollars. According to supporters, new developments are just around the corner, but the reality is that much work is needed before the project yields any jobs and neighborhood enjoys a revitalization.

After failures, juggled projects, and a major company deal that fell through, Ronald Charette, Executive Director at the South Worcester Neighborhood Center, says the group is reinventing what the property is intended to do and rethinking its options.

“We’re at a point of working on this for 15 years and after fixing SWIP, we have to reinvent SWIP,” he said. “What do we intend it to be? We don’t know what to attract right now. We don’t know what type of business we’re trying to get. We’re going to spend time to plan what we would like to invest in for the area. Do we want bio-tech, nano-tech, manufacturing, fiber optic? We don’t know. We need to create a sense of direction.”

This project, he says, is still a necessary component to making the neighborhood a success.

“It can’t fall through. This is the renaissance and rejuvenation of South Worcester. The neighborhood is going to continue to decay and decline and we need jobs in the neighborhood. You can’t create housing without places to work,” Charette said. Recently, the group met with local businesses to plan what they need to do to make SWIP a success.

A Rough Start

Former District 4 Councilor, Barbara Haller worked with SWIP during her ten years with the city. SWIP encompasses an 11-acre area of brownfields and old factory buildings that was to be repurposed for new companies and new jobs for the area.

The space was once used for many industries which contributed to environmental contamination at the site.

“The idea was to take an industrial area that was part of Worcester’s greatness but it became part of Worcester’s horror,” Haller said. “We hoped to reclaim brownfields and create real and significant jobs for people in the neighborhood.”

SWIP sits near railroad, interstate, the Port of Worcester, and is close to the downtown. But even with these advantages, Haller recounted the site’s troubled past.

“It’s taken its toll,” Haller said, indicating that one member of the council had suffered a stroke while the issue was at its most intense.

A Ship Too Big to Sink

“When PharmaSphere came into the picture, we were set with one lot that was cleaned up and ready to go,” Haller said. “We thought that if we got one parcel going, it would attract more.”

The company was exactly what the area was looking for: clean, high-tech, and would help a wide range of people seeking jobs, making for an ideal first step… until funding fell through, Haller said.

According to Charette at the South Worcester Neighborhood Center, the initial interest with Pharma-Sphere was distracting. Future successes, he says, will be in smaller, better planned steps.

“We have to be realistic. In the past, we thought that if you throw up a net and say, ‘We’re making an industrial park,’ they’ll come,” he said. “Most of us were really excited when we had PharmaSphere coming. We were giddy. No body stopped to check. When that folded, everyone got disheartened.”

“At some point it became apparent that it wasn’t going to happen and we weren't going to get the financing. That was really disappointing,” she recounted.

“The more you learn, the more you want to ask, ‘Why hasn’t it worked?” said current District 4 Councilor, Sarai Rivera. “When you look at every aspect – commuter, the great land, the railroad, 290... It’s going to benefit the everyday person looking for a job as well as college and skilled labor. We have all these things in place but why hasn’t this happened? It’s a win-win situation.”

Small Steps

The South Worcester Neighborhood Center will now be taking these past lessons in mind, reworking the site’s future, and developing a marketing plan.

“We’re looking for small incremental steps,” Charette said, adding that people shouldn’t expect big announcement. “We also will be working to find a niche. What can make SWIP unique? We’re going to be talking tomorrow night to readjust our focus and will be bringing in help from people who are educated on this.”

The group will be holding their next planning meeting Thursday to get input from local businesses on how to make things successful in Worcester.

“It’s been a huge undertaking, I understand that. I think that SWIP has had some really amazing potential,” said Rivera. “We will be meeting to look at gaining community support. We’re trying to send a message.”

Construction at City Square, one of Worcester's current redevelopment projects.

Charette plans to get some input from local successful businesses like Rotman’s, the Providence & Worcester Railroad, and Polar. “We need to say, ‘You’re very successful. What brought you here and what’s worked? We’ll steal your playbook, but we’re not bringing you any competition.’ We’ve come to that point,” he said.

Political Muscle

Charette is hopeful that with the current council who plans to hold the City Manager to this marker of success at next year’s evaluation, the project’s political muscle will come through.

“We have so many development projects now. You just get a number. SWIP’s got to move up there politically,” he said. “Let’s get this thing going. Once this taskforce comes together and has a vision of what we want this to be, and develop a marketing plan, the rest comes simple.”

“With so many projects in the city, some things take a back seat. This is one that has been many years in the works,” Rivera said at a recent Council meeting.

Paul Morano, Worcester’s Director of Business Assistance maintains that while the project has been a long time coming, work never stopped.

“By September the last building will be down. Over the summer we will be working drafting a request and proposals and sites up to bid,” he said. “There’s a lot of staff and neighborhood representatives involved and a lot of local and federal dollars.”

“I’m confident now,” Charette said. “Sometimes you need to fail once or multiple times to know how to get it right. We have to play this orchestra one instrument at a time.”

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