For a child, being tagged “it” is akin to losing the game. For a municipality, being tagged “it,” as NPR recently designated Worcester, means something else entirely. Worcester “is outpacing just about every other small city in America and could find itself a case study for urban growth” according to NPR, which followed in the footsteps of the New York Times and other storied institutions in profiling New England’s second-largest city.
While Worcester boasts many enviable assets – a wealth of residential options, nine colleges and universities, two major teaching hospitals, significant cultural and historical offerings, a vibrant business sector – the key to its success has been its ability to adapt. For too long an afterthought among the region’s leading urban centers, Worcester has spent the last few decades restructuring its downtown, rebuilding its housing stock and repositioning its business, educational and medical assets to draw investment, jobs and residents, enjoying a period of growth and interest unseen in many years.
Worcester sought to compete with the decline of cities and the rise of suburbs by rebuilding as a suburban city in the 1960s and 1970s. Main Street, with its street life and historic architecture, suffered as alternate byways maximized the flow of automobiles and enclosed malls coopted the daily customer.
Recognizing the error, the city began afresh as it approached the new millennium. The embrace of a new economy with the creation of the Worcester Biotechnology Research Park and Gateway Park, adjacent to and affiliated with Worcester’s great educational centers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, resulted in a pioneering life sciences hub.
The downtown was elevated as the center of activity with the renovation of Union Station and the reestablishment of commuter rail service between Worcester and Boston. Public and private investments at St. Vincent Hospital, the DCU Arena and Convention Center and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Worcester Campus among others drew jobs, visitors, and vibrancy into the core.
As a result, new housing, commercial space, and arts opportunities arose, notably with ongoing mixed-use developments at CitySquare and The Grid District and the opening of The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts. Worcester reclaimed its historic role as a regional hub for living, working and entertainment.
Strategic Partnerships Make Progress
With limited municipal tools and resources, Worcester’s success has been propelled by strategic
collaboration between public and private partners. A proactive city government works closely with organizations like the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, Worcester Business Development Corporation and Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives through the Economic Development Coordinating Council – a collective designed to align priorities and support for key economic development initiatives.
Strong connections to the state, reinforced by two local lieutenant governors, have ensured focus and funding. Massport and the MBTA have been crucial to the enhancement of transportation connections to the city and MassDevelopment and MassHousing are leading funders of major private projects.
Yet while all these partners are critical, a compelling factor in the announced relocation of the Boston Red Sox Triple-A affiliate to Worcester has been passionate residents and engaged businesses committing to tickets and long-range advertising.
Tim McGourthy
The city’s transformation remains ongoing. Major projects are catalyzing significant investment, but this wholescale change remains substantially concentrated in the urban core. A proposed citywide master plan looks to link that investment to the neighborhoods, buoyed by six designated Opportunity Zones.
While Worcester’s unemployment rate is at historic lows, education and access continue to hold back certain communities and geographies. The Worcester Public Schools adopted a pioneering community-based strategic plan to harness both public and private resources for student achievement. A robust nonprofit and philanthropic community works diligently to address social ills.
Worcester is “it” and is rightfully proud of its renaissance. The city is succeeding at the urban development game and others are starting to take notice. The outlines of the strategy are simple – both people and place are indispensable underpinnings for a dynamic future.
Tim McGourthy is executive director of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau.
