Once easy to dismiss as a sleepy commuter community, Harris has helped bring a lot more economic activity into the MetroWest city of Marlborough.
In 2015, Harris applied to be then-mayor Arthur Vigeant’s chief of staff. He thought she would be better suited working for the City’s economic development arm, and it seems like he was on to something; since Harris started, Marlborough has seen hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from firms globally.
Under Harris, the city has begun competing with municipalities much larger in size. Marlborough was chosen in March to be the home of the new $200-million State Police Crime Lab, beating out bigger competitors like Worcester. Marlborough is playing a larger role in the region’s biotech scene, including $25 million in investments from Cytiva to build labs and a training facility. It has wooed innovative tech firms like XL Batteries, originally headquartered in Brooklyn.
Harris has led the MEDC as it boosts mom-and-pop companies; its pop-up shed program gives small businesses a place to establish their brands and meet customers in the city’s Downtown.Â
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.Â
