September 30, 2005
ROMNEY AWARDS $2 MILLION IN STATE ASSISTANCE TO WORCESTER
Money goes to infrastructure improvements for Gateway Park project
WORCESTER - Governor Mitt Romney today awarded $2 million in state funding to the City of Worcester to make critical roadway and parking enhancements around the planned Gateway Park, a $68 million redevelopment project near the central business district.
“Gateway Park is the kind of project that will pull people into Worcester and make the city an engine of economic growth,” said Romney. “It offers new opportunities for high-tech businesses, access to mass transit and the promise of more housing.”
The result of a partnership among the federal, state and city governments, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and the Worcester Business Development Corporation, Gateway Park is expected to create nearly one million square feet of new, mixed-use development over the next five years in addition to hundreds of new jobs.
The $2 million grant announced by the Governor today will pay for infrastructure improvements that are necessary to realize the long-term development goals of Gateway Park. Improvements include the construction of a new 1,300-foot public road, more than 200 new parking spaces and the reconstruction of 1,800 feet of existing roadway on Prescott and Garden Streets. These roads will serve as the principal means of access for future Gateway Park tenants.
“This grant will allow us to sustain the momentum at Gateway Park in creating a bioengineering and technology center that will benefit Worcester and the Commonwealth on many different fronts,” said Mayor Tim Murray. “I want to thank Governor Romney for recognizing the value of this project.”
Gateway Park was conceived as a center for life sciences and bioengineering and will feature extensive lab and office space for high-tech companies. WPI has committed to be the lead tenant for the project’s first building, the WPI Life Science and Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park. WPI will locate its Bioengineering Institute and several graduate research programs in this building, which is expected to be ready for occupancy in January of 2007.
“This critically important support from Governor Romney and the Commonwealth facilitates Gateway Park’s further development as a center for bioengineering, research, urban renewal, economic development, and science and technology education,” said Dr. Dennis Berkey, president and CEO of Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
To promote the site as a center for high-tech innovation, WPI and the Worcester Business Development Corporation will jointly market available spots within Gateway Park to businesses involved in bioengineering, nanotechnology and medical devices.
“We are grateful to Governor Romney and his teams at Commonwealth Development and EOT for this critical funding,” said David Forsberg, president of the Worcester Business Development Corporation. “It will provide the infrastructure necessary to produce jobs and tax revenue for Worcester and will leverage hundreds of thousands of dollars of private investment in the Gateway.”
The long-term site plan calls for the construction of housing and retail space located within walking distance of the new lab and office space. Bounded by Garden, Prescott and Concord Streets, Gateway Park is close to City Hall and the central business district. Regular bus service will run from the area to Union Station.
“The development of Gateway Park is what Smart Growth is all about,” said Douglas I. Foy, Secretary of the Office for Commonwealth Development. “Investing capital resources from the state in this mixed-use project shows how we want to grow in Massachusetts.”
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