UMass Memorial Health will absorb another hospital, and nine other predictions.
Every December for
the Economic Forecast special edition, the journalists in the WBJ newsroom forecast 10 possible news events for the coming year, based on their expertise and the trends in the Central Massachusetts business community.
UMass Memorial Health will absorb another hospital.
The healthcare financial picture remains difficult, particularly for hospitals, and UMass Memorial appears to be the most financially sound of all the ones in the region. After merging with Milford Regional Medical Center at the end of 2024, UMass Memorial will pick up another one next year.
Rental prices at multi-family apartment complexes will flatten out in Central Massachusetts.
As more housing units slowly are coming online, the housing market is becoming less constrained in the region. Rents appear to be nearing the maximum of what the market can bear, so we don’t see any major upticks in 2026.
UMass Chan Medical School will hire its first woman and/or person of color as its next chancellor.
UMass Chan has launched a broad search to replace Dr. Michael Collins, as his transformational 19-year tenure comes to a close in July. While the new chancellor will certainly be more than qualified, we see UMass picking the first-ever woman or person of color as its leader for the first time in its 62-year history, joining an increasingly diverse group of Central Massachusetts college leaders.
The Worcester Regional Transit Authority will make its fare-free program permanent.
WRTA buses have been free to ride since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but the organization’s leadership has had to approve temporary extensions of that policy each year. Now, 2026 will be the year the program finally becomes permanent.
Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough begins the process of converting to another use.
This prediction was much bolder before Dec. 5, when Ohio-based property redeveloper Industrial Commercial Properties bought the majority of the mall property for $8.5 million. With the mall losing another high-profile tenant in Apple this year, we see the mall's new owner demolishing a significant portion of it to make room for something fresh in the high-traffic location.
The three state universities in Central Massachusetts will see an overall decline in enrollment.
Worcester, Framingham, and Fitchburg state universities all saw enrollment declines from 2024 to 2025, ranging from 1% to 7%. The long-term trend of the number of high school graduates falling, coupled with larger issues like a national crackdown on immigration, will mean the universities will see another drop in enrollment in 2026, despite their best efforts.
Cannabis social consumption businesses won’t open in 2026.
In the 10 years since Massachusetts voters legalized recreational marijuana, including approving on-site consumption similar to bars, the Cannabis Control Commission has been extremely slow in developing the necessary regulations. Commissioners finally did that this year, but the overall contraction in the industry and the regulatory hurdles that now must be cleared will make it difficult for any social consumption sites to open in this region in 2026.
Two equity-focused nonprofits will close in 2026.
Any nonprofit relying on any sort of government funding had a rough year in 2025, as the President Donald Trump Administration made a number of cuts to the social safety net. Funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion took a particular hit this year, and Worcester nonprofit MassEdCo had to close in October. As the issues persist and competition for private funding rises, next year will see the closure of more.
AIM’s manufacturing index will stay pessimistic for all of 2026.
The comprehensive Massachusetts Business Confidence Index published by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts each month includes several sub-indexes tied to regions, industries, and business sizes. Of all these, the manufacturing index is typically the most pessimistic on the future of the economy. With tariffs still causing headaches and the global economy uncertain, we predict this trend will continue throughout next year.
Another data center is built in Central Massachusetts.
As more and more dollars are poured into the development of AI, tech companies are building data centers across the globe to handle the required computing power. Companies prefer to build these centers in places with cheaper electricity than Central Massachusetts, but a handful do dot the landscape here. Given their necessity to the tech industry’s goals, we see at least one more opening in 2026.
