Image I Courtesy of the Worcester Business Development Corp.
GreenTech Park's new logo
10 hours ago
WBDC rebrands former Saint-Gobain property, largest revitalization project in its history
Photo | Courtesy of Rockland Trust
The Worcester Business Development Corp. is in the process of demolishing buildings across 51 acres of previously Saint-Gobain Abrasives owned land.
The Worcester Business Development Corp. has branded the 51 acres of the former Saint-Gobain Abrasives southern campus in Worcester, as the nonprofit works to revitalize the area into development-ready sites designed to attract advanced manufacturing companies.
The site now will be known as GreenTech Park, according to a Wednesday press release from WBDC.
Previously underutilized campus space, GreenTech Park was purchased by WBDC in November 2022 as part of its Greendale Revitalization Initiative, an effort between the WBDC and the City of Worcester to revive the city’s Greendale neighborhood.
The redevelopment project includes demolishing the land’s more than 40 buildings and upgrading infrastructure to make way for pad-ready sites ranging from 50,000 to 450,000 square feet, designed to attract advanced manufacturing and create jobs. In total, GreenTech Park will offer more than 850,000 square feet of manufacturing space to the city.
“This is the largest project in our 60-year history and marks a transformational moment for the WBDC,” Craig Blais, WBDC president, said in the release. “GreenTech Park represents our commitment to creating development opportunities that focus on sustainability, resiliency, and the future of manufacturing in Worcester. This is a crucial step in attracting the next generation of industry leaders to our region.”
WBDC has already demolished approximately 75% of the property’s obsolete buildings. Once all are removed, the nonprofit will move onto the second phase of redevelopment, including constructing new roadways and upgrading public utilities like water, sewer, and drainage systems.
In October, the redevelopment project received a $2.6-million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to support upgrades to roadways, telecommunications infrastructure, drainage systems, and utilities. The funds are expected to create more than 2,900 jobs, retain 320 jobs, and generate $20 million in private investment, according to the WBDC’s nonprofit subsidiary New Garden Park.
In October 2022, just before the official purchase, the City of Worcester and WBDC received a combined $1.75 million in grants for the project from the state’s Community One Stop for Growth program.
At the time of the purchase, Saint Gobain said had been weighing options for redeveloping the underutilized space for years.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
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