Seeking to prevent blight in downtown Boston, an economic development agency is plugging a $2 million hole in the budget of a private group about to take over management of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. Photo of Greenwayfountain by Frank Curran. The Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, a quasi-public agency that normally provides loans for […]
Growth and Development
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Community Preservation Act makes inroads in Bristol County
Wednesday, November 5, 2008 Swansea reverses its 2001 decision and votes to implement the Community Preservation Act by a substantial margin. It’s a notable development because Bristol County and communities bordering Rhode Island have been slow to adopt the CPA — as have cities and towns that, like Swansea, are among the less affluent in […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Plymouth goes Hollywood
After watching a montage of movie clips and hearing video pep talks from actor Casey Affleck and talk-show host Leeza Gibbons, Plymouth town meeting members voted overwhelmingly last night to give tax breaks and zoning changes to a company seeking to build a major movie studio on a 240-acre golf course along Route 3. There […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Working in the dark
states and cities in the US spend more than $50 billion a year in the name of economic development. But these subsidies to create and retain jobs, called everything from “business incentives” to “corporate welfare,” are one of the most poorly understood forms of state spending. The average state has more than 30 subsidy programs, […]
Posted inEconomy
Lawrence’s mill makeover gets a second start
INTRO TEXT Monarch on the Merrimack, a mill makeover once viewed as a potential linchpin to the revival of Lawrence, is trying to get back on track. The massive redevelopment project, the focus of a CommonWealth cover story (see “Thinking Big,” CW, Summer ’07), lost its way last year, the victim of a downturn in […]
Posted inEconomy
Meeting market
The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.Photo courtesy of Denterlein Worldwide. the boston convention & exhibition center edges toward Summer Street, hovering like a giant spaceship looking for a place to park. Nearly five years after its opening, the sprawling facility on the South Boston Waterfront is still seeking the right fit, both physical and economic. […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Zoning laws: Wasilla is no Wayland
Sarah Palin has sought to connect with voters in the "lower 48" by telling them Alaska is just a microcosm of the United States. It seems doubtful that the GOP vice presidential candidate has been to a town meeting in Massachusetts. For while residents here treat proposals for zoning relief as nothing less than potential […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Film tax credits: A state budget horror show?
Tuesday, October 14, 2008 State tax credits for the film industry, which received a tough review in the spring issue of CommonWealth magazine, got national treatment in Sunday’s New York Times, which reports that some budget-strapped states are questioning whether the lucrative tax deals for moviemakers are a good deal for taxpayers. The Times story […]
Posted inEconomy
Build to suit
early last year, MassINC released Reconnecting Massachusetts Gateway Cities, a report on how the state’s historic mill communities have been struggling to make the shift to the New Economy. It acknowledged the challenges holding these communities back — challenges that we all recognize — but more importantly, it revealed enormous opportunities, some of them hiding […]
Posted inEconomy
Moving the goal posts
Sudbury officials say this small stretch of sidewalk along Dakin Street qualified under the Community Preservation Act for partial state funding because the pathway is a recreational facility for walkers, joggers, bikers, skateboarders, and rollerbladers. THE COMMUNITY PRESERVATION Act arose from the noble desire to give municipalities more tools to fight urban sprawl and to […]