Berkshire, you should have picked Worcester
Alright, Berkshire Bank, we get it. You wanted to be in Boston. It's got skyscrapers, luxury apartments, a history of a strong workforce, GE, the Celtics and the booming Seaport District.
Really, though, you are missing out on a better opportunity by not moving your headquarters to Worcester. New England's second biggest city may not be New England's biggest city, but for a company from Western Massachusetts attempting to assert itself a dominant regional player in the Northeast and recruit the right mix of talent for the next generation of innovations in banking, Worcester is where you want to be.
When your parent company Berkshire Hills Bancorp announced May 22 the planned purchased Worcester's Commerce Bank – with its 16 branches and $2.2 billion in assets – for $209 million in stock, you saw it as an opportunity to accelerate your plans to move your headquarters from Pittsfield to Boston. While the Commerce acquisition seemingly gives you the financial heft to go toe-to-toe with the major players in Boston, the purchase of a community bank with significant Central Massachusetts ties and strong local ownership should cause you to think about Worcester, not Boston. By keeping the Commerce name at its five Worcester branches, you understand the standout role Commerce plays in the community – a role you could have filled if your headquarters became 386 Main St., Worcester, MA 01615.
Rather than latching onto a city whose rapid rise has already happened and is resulting in significant sprawl into MetroWest, you can in Worcester get on near the ground floor of a city and a region whose property values, rental rates, office occupancy, commercial square footage, employment and wages are all on the rise.
Now, let's talk sticker shock. Do you know how much a 10,000-square-foot headquarters will cost you in Boston, particularly the Seaport District? Think multiples of what you are paying in Pittsfield. The executives you will move from Western Massachusetts will have to find places to live in one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country. The workforce you recruit must deal with the city's high cost of living. With the exception of the highest-paid or the ones who really want the city life, the bulk of your workforce will choose MetroWest and the North and South Shores to live and raise their families, forcing them to suffer through the Boston commute.
Imagine instead, that workforce in and around Worcester. You could afford to pay them less in salary since they won't have Boston-level expenses. Even if you pay them the same amount in order to recruit the best, their money will go a lot farther in Worcester, improving their quality of life and appreciation for your company. They could still choose to live in MetroWest, but they could have a much less congested route into Worcester, making them more productive employees.
Listen, Berkshire, you made a big move by taking over Commerce. Now it is time to make the smart move and have your headquarters right where Commerce did.
WBJ Web Partners
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