Gateway Park

[FrankG]

Has anyone been following the Gateway Park development in downtown Worcester? It is planned as a collection of research facilities, offices, and some retail and residential. I am very curious if it will bring a significant chunk of the biotech industry to Worcester as Boston/Cambridge becomes saturated.

http://www.gatewayparkworcester.com/

[vanshnookenraggen]

I think spreading the Biotech industry around the region is a great idea. Rather that than have them move to the midwest.

I also like that this project is situated just north of "downtown" which will bring a lot of life into the city center.

As always, too much green space, but with tech centers like this I also see this as land in the bank when they need to expand, so this is not so much of a bad idea.

I am also concerned about the rail line running through this plot of land. I don't even know if it is active but I hope they are preserving the ROW.

[FrankG]

The whole scheme reminds me very much of University Park in Cambridge, which as far as I know is a success. I'm not surprised that WPI is following suit with the exact same kind of plans.

If that ROW isn't in use, there's potential for a light rail link of some kind connecting the development to Union Station. This would probably be a huge boon to bringing in reverse-commuters from closer to Boston. I wonder if the developers were thinking about this when they chose the site.

[vanshnookenraggen]

This site is right along the I-290/I-190 corridor and the rail connects to Fitchburg. Light rail or commuter rail, this corridor is prime for growth.

[FrankG]

Ohh - I remember what the rail line is - the proposed corridor for the roundabout Worcester-to-North Station route:

http://www.telegram.com/article/2008...803060790/1116

The article says it's freight track currently.

[palindrome]

lol from the site:

"A smooth, expedited permitting process (90 days average in Worcester compared to 3 years in Boston/Cambridge)"

[vanshnookenraggen]

/\ I think that says it all. /\

The region needs to grow and if Boston and Cambridge don't want it we should start investing in the areas around 128 and 495. Growth is already filling up the areas inside 495 (given current zoning) so it makes sense that the next places for development are past 495, Worcester and Providence.

Boston doesn't just need a master growth plan, the whole eastern New England region needs one.

Edit: Another reason we need to worry about growth this far out from Boston is now we are getting close to the various reservoirs that supply Boston with its clean drinking water.

[cden4]

My folks live out in Western Mass, just outside Springfield, and that whole area is HURTING. Springfield and many of our older cities have such potential to be so great, but they are right now just shells of what they once were. Instead of building office parks in the suburbs, we should be revitalizing our downtowns. People in Western Mass deserve the same opportunities for housing and employment as we have in the Boston area. What happens now is that most young people leave and come to Boston because there are so few other options.