🔒Editorial: Marlborough’s pro-business reputation pays dividends

Over the past two decades, the City of Marlborough has honed a well-earned reputation as a business-friendly community. Under former mayor Arthur Vigeant and current mayor Christian Dumais, the city has made itself a haven for industry of all kinds. Marlborough is home to the largest concentration of public companies in Central Mass. The New England Ice Center, with its focus on youth sports, has been the sneakily major driver of hotel stays and restaurant meals. The Apex Center became a beacon experience-driven entertainment immediately after it opened in 2017. Multiple multi-family housing projects have been in various stages of development, as Central Massachusetts struggles with housing. While the city has its own local regulation and will listen to the concerns of residents about new developments, its reputation is best summed up as: Marlborough will do whatever it takes to make your business dreams a reality. This includes obvious efforts like property tax breaks but also includes the little things. For example, to address businesses’ concerns over the lack of public transportation between their offices and the Commuter Rail into Boston, Marlborough worked to set up shuttles and bicycles to help workers get that last mile to work. If you’ve ever spent time with Meredith Harris, executive director of the City’s Marlborough Economic Development Corp., her mantra is clearly: Whatever issue might prevent your business from relocating, expanding, or staying in Marlborough, the City is your partner in the solution. This attitude most recently paid dividends when a developer with a Marlborough-based proposal secured the $200-million State Police crime lab project and the coveted 300 life sciences jobs that come with it. As WBJ Managing Editor Eric Casey notes in his “Marlborough’s $200M win”, the City bolstered developer Greatland Realty Partners’ bid by including a $9-million property tax break. The crime lab is just one economic development victory among countless others for Marlborough, ranging from helping small businesses obtain bank loans to German life sciences firm Sartorius completing a $100-million expansion in the city. Even the $8.5-million sale in December of the Solomon Pond Mall, which has been losing tenants for years, feels more like a fresh beginning than the end of a formerly great economic driver. Each Central Massachusetts community is going to have its own nuanced approach to economic development, shaped by the desires of residents and the government officials in charge. While Marlborough’s pro-business attitude might not be the right fit for anybody, the lessons from the city should be learned by everybody. This editorial is the opinion of the WBJ Editorial Board.