As president of the Worcester Business Development Corp. and a member of the City of Worcester’s Economic Development Coordinating Council, few people have as much influence over economic development in Greater Worcester than Blais. Elected as a selectman in the Town of Auburn at just 20 years old, he’s a longtime power player in the region.
The biggest item on Blais’ agenda now is the revitalization of the former Saint-Gobain campus in Worcester’s Greendale neighborhood. The project seeks to bring a new era of manufacturing to the 51-acre area via a $50-million transformation, seeking to create 1,000 new jobs in areas like advancing manufacturing and green tech. Assuming all goes as planned, the project — dubbed GreenTech Park by the WBDC in March — will help continue the legacy of Worcester-built products at a time where bringing manufacturing back to American shores is in the spotlight.
The WBDC helps facilitate the growth of small businesses through its Small Business Administration loan program, providing financing to businesses like Quinn’s Blue Plate in and Seven Saws Brewery. The corporation assists developers with receiving tax credit approvals, among other assistance.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
