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2020 Power 50: Charles F. “Chip” Norton

President and owner, Franklin Realty Advisors

Much of the new development projects happening around downtown Worcester can be traced back to the success Norton had in buying 100 & 120 Front St. in 2015 for $33 million, which was hardly a foregone conclusion.

He was able to obtain an anchor tenant in UMass Memorial Health Care, invested $36 million in a renovation and rebranded it as the Mercantile Center to create a premier office space destination. Norton remains a fixture in the Worcester redevelopment scene, pushing for the Midtown Mall to be renovated and scoring buzz-worthy announcements of planned new restaurants from Ruth’s Chris Steak House and the Broadway Hospitality Group. His first major project in Central Mass. was the 1.2-million-square-foot Southbridge Innovation Center, an old mill complex anchoring the city’s downtown with the Southbridge Hotel & Conference Center.

What makes Central Mass. unique? As it rapidly develops as a place where people want to work, live and visit, its commercial and retail growth isn’t slowing.

Full-time developer; part-time athlete: I have done the 200-mile Ragnar running relay race from Hull to Provincetown, the 24-hour bike marathon in Central Park, the Mount Washington Hillclimb, the Best Buddies Century Challenge (a 100-mile bike ride from Dorchester to Hyannis Port), the Pan-Mass Challenge (from Sturbridge to Provincetown), and the Boston Marathon.

Power 50: View the entire Power 50 Class of 2020

– Digital Partners -

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