Massachusetts

Boston Fed Launches Working Cities Challenge to Help Smaller MA Cities

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren was joined by representatives from more than 20 communities in Massachusetts for the launch of the Working Cities Challenge, along with leaders from other agencies and organizations involved in the effort.

Working Cities Challenge

Working Cities Challenge (photo – bostonfed.org)

The program, titled “Working Cities Challenge: An Initiative for Massachusetts Smaller Cities,” aims to improve public-private cooperation and collaboration in smaller cities, and will support economic development projects to help improve the lives of low-income families.

The winning cities will get more than a million dollars in grant funding, although all of the participating cities will get a lot of help in many different ways.

All participants will benefit from peer-city advice, technical assistance and access to new sources for flexible debt and grant programs. They will have access to a large network of leaders from the public and private sectors, along with those working in the non-profit and philanthropy areas.

Communities whose manufacturing plants have moved away or shut down will be pushed to look at other sectors and come up with a “transformative project” to bring deep and everlasting change. Massachusetts is the first state to adopt this model at a regional level.

The Boston Fed developed the Working Cities Challenge as a regional model of Living Cities’ The Integration Initiative (TII). Living Cities is a New York-based collaboration of 22 of the world’s largest financial institutions and foundations.

Ben Hecht, president and CEO of Living Cities, said their primary aim with TII was to improve the lives of low-income families at scale. He said boosting prosperity at the population level needs systemic solutions, rather than programmatic ones.

Living Cities is chipping in with $600,000 committed by its members, half of which comes from Bank of America alone. Other entities working in partnership with the Boston Fed for this initiative include the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Mass Competitive Partnership.

Working Cities will provide between six to eight awards. There will be three to five seed awards ranging from $50,000 to $80,000. There will be three main multi-year implementation awards. One will be in between $150,000 to $300,000, the second one between $300,000 to $500,000, and the third one between $500,000 to $700,000. Winners will be chosen by a panel of experts.

This initiative was launched as a result of research conducted on small cities by the Boston Fed, which found that eight out of 26 cities in a peer group had managed to recover their economic stability with the help of collaborative leadership, infrastructure investments and the assistance of anchor institutions.

The Boston Fed found that their study findings closely matched Living Cities’ TII, which has been tested on the inner-city populations of five larger cities.

They are now hoping the Working Cities Challenge will offer insights into what might work that can then be scaled up for larger cities, and the initiative may even be expanded outside Massachusetts to include other regions in New England.

BIO Report – Bioscience Economic Development Best Practices

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) has released a comprehensive report that serves as a best practices guide on bioscience economic development and provides data on state-by-state legislative initiatives and regulatory reforms introduced to support economic growth in biosciences.

BIO report on bioscience economic development

BIO report on bioscience economic development (photo – bio.org)

The report, titled “Bioscience Economic Development: Legislative Priorities, Best Practices, and Return On Investment,” was unveiled during the 2013 BIO International Convention underway at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois.

BIO undertook a review of initiatives in support of bioscience companies in all 50 states. Highlights from the report:-

- 15 states offer Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) matching grants;

- 39 states offer R&D tax credits, many of which are higher if it is an in-state university doing the research. Seven states have made these R&D tax credits refundable, while three have made them transferable;

- 35 states offer sales tax exemptions for R&D equipment, while 33 states offer sales tax exemptions for biomanufacturing equipment. Seven states are even more specific, and have a sales tax exemption offered exclusively to bioscience companies;

- Seven states have a tax credit program for angel investors who invest in bioscience companies; and

- 14 states have made direct investments in bioscience companies.

Jim Greenwood, president and CEO of BIO, said that industry growth and bioscience economic development required wide-ranging collaboration between policymakers, the private industry and universities.

The report also includes a section on ROI success stories (scroll down to pg 11) which includes five case studies of stellar biosciences initiatives and investments made by California, Massachusetts, Kansas, Pennsylvania and Texas.

One of these case studies is the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), created in 2004 to further stem cell research and funded with $3 million in bond sales over a 10-year period. CRIM provides research funding, training and facility setup.

As of July 2012, CIRM had committed $1.1 billion in grants, which added to another $884.3 million in matching funds put up by grant recipients and other supporting organizations. This investment has created 24,654 new and full-time jobs, and generated $201 million in local and state tax revenues.

California’s biomedical industry has received $1.98 billion in venture capital funding and $3.33 billion in NIH grants over the last decade, which has provided the following returns:-

- 2,321 biomedical companies that generate a combined $69.2 billion in annual revenues;

- Together, these companies employ 152,806 employees at average annual wages of $101,658;

- Biomedical exports from California are worth $20 billion per year.

The U.S. bioscience industry supports 1.6 million jobs that pay 79 percent higher wages as compared to an average worker in the private industry.

Read the full bioscience economic development report from BIO – Download (pf)

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces $250M Expansion in Devens, MA

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMS) announced that it is planning to spend $250 million for an expansion of the company’s biologics manufacturing facility in Devens, Massachusetts.

Bristol-Myers Squibb facility in Devens, MA

Bristol-Myers Squibb facility in Devens, MA (photo – bms.com)

The expansion will include the construction of two new buildings on the 89-acre Devens campus 45 miles west of Boston for introducing clinical trial manufacturing and biologics development capabilities to what is now a purely manufacturing site.

The project will create 350 new jobs. The company already employs 400 people at the Devens facility, spread across 400,000 square feet in six buildings. The expansion into two new buildings will add another 200,000 square feet.

Lou Schmukler, president, Global Manufacturing & Supply at Bristol-Myers Squibb, said that biologics were a growing component in the company’s pipeline of potential therapies, and this expansion would accelerate development by closely aligning their manufacturing process with biologics R&D.

Bristol-Myers Squibb has not applied for incentives for this particular expansion, offered by the state through the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC). When the New York-based company first decided to set up the Devens facility back in 2006, Massachusetts had to provide an incentives package of around $100 million, mostly in the form of tax breaks.

At that time, Bristol-Myers Squibb agreed to invest at least $650 million and create 350 new jobs, with another 200 jobs to be added afterwards. They have already invested $750 million for the Devens facility, which has been operational since 2009.

The company also acquired Waltham, MA-based biologics company Adnexus in 2007, so they have another 60 employees in Waltham now.

Combined with this latest $250 million expansion, Bristol-Myers Squibb will have invested a billion dollars in Massachusetts and created 750 new jobs, which means their performance has been a lot better than what was agreed to.

MA Gov. Deval Patrick said that the state’s economic development team had been working closely with Bristol-Myers Squibb as they were looking at locations for the expansion, and added that he looked forward to the company adding more jobs and providing economic opportunities in Massachusetts.

Susan Windham-Bannister, president and CEO of the MLSC, said that Massachusetts was adding jobs in the life sciences industry faster than any other state, with nine of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies now having established a presence in Massachusetts.

She added that these companies were attracted by the renowned academic institutions, a vibrant cluster of innovative startups, a talented workforce, and the billion-dollar Life Sciences Initiative.

Bristol-Myers Squibb will begin construction later this year, and complete the expansion by 2015. In the meantime, they are getting started by relocating some of their biologics process development to a nearby temporary 30,000-square-foot facility in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Tops Milken State Technology Index

The non-profit Milken Institute released its 2012 State Technology and Science Index, which showed that Massachusetts is still the best destination for hi-tech companies, jobs and careers.

Milken Institute State Technology and Science Index

Milken Institute State Technology and Science Index (photo – milkeninstitute.org)

This index evaluates each state’s capabilities in the science and tech sectors based on 79 unique indicators, including the state’s ability to leverage these assets for attracting companies and high-paying jobs.    

Milken has published this index every two years for the past decade, and Massachusetts has been on top every single time. In fact, Massachusetts with a score of 86.40 has actually widened the lead this year over Maryland which scored 79.41 and retained its second place showing.

Kevin Klowden, senior economist at Milken and co-author of the report, called Massachusetts the “indomitable state” with a critical mass of research centers, hi-tech firms and universities.

California (75.70), which had been in fourth place in the 2010 index, jumped up one place to push Colorado (75.07 ) down to fourth place. Here’s the list of the top ten states in the Milken State Technology and Science Index.

1. Massachusetts

2. Maryland

3. California

4. Colorado

5. Washington

6. Virginia

7. Utah

8. Delaware

9. Connecticut

10. New Hampshire

The 79 indicators the index is based on are categorized into five groupings under technology and science work force, technology concentration and dynamism, human capital investment, risk capital and entrepreneurial infrastructure, and research and development inputs.

The state which surged the most in the rankings this year was Tennessee, which jumped from its 41st spot in 2010 to 35th in 2012, thanks to huge gains in the risk capital and entrepreneurial infrastructure category, which means the state saw a lot of growth in companies getting venture capital or cashing in with public offerings.

Virginia likewise jumped two spots to a 6th place ranking based on a stellar performance in the risk capital category. Rhode Island cracked into the top 20 with a 17th place ranking due to its gains in the technology and science work force category.

Klowden says the index shows how important innovation is for state economies. States such as California with a traditionally strong science and technology sector have been able to claw their way back out of the recession by riding on the backs of a comeback in the tech sector.

Read the full Milken Institute 2012 State Technology and Science Index – Download (pdf) 

Framingham State Univ. Power Plant Conversion to Save $15M

Framingham State University and Massachusetts state and local officials celebrated the conversion of the university’s power plant from number six fuel oil to natural gas.

FSU Climate Action Plan

FSU Climate Action Plan (photo – framingham.edu)

The move is expected to save $15 million in energy costs and reduce FSU’s carbon footprint by 105 million pounds, or 30 percent.

“In addition to working with businesses and municipalities to invest in clean energy, we are also leading by example and investing in energy efficiency initiatives for state buildings across the Commonwealth,” said MA Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray. “This project at Framingham State University is a great example of our work that is helping to protect the environment and reduce our reliance on foreign fossil fuels.”

In order to reduce its carbon footprint, FSU undertook an Energy Performance Contract (EPC) in collaboration with the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) and NSTA.

The project included replacing approximately 7,500 lights on campus with more efficient fluorescent lamps and installing occupancy controls to turn off lighting in specified areas. Other initiatives included installation of new pipe insulation, replacement of old motors with high-efficient motors and replacement of an old steam chiller in the library with a new high-efficiency electric chiller.

FSU is expected to reduce its CO2 greenhouse gas emissions over the life of the contract by approximately 105 million pounds. The EPC ultimately undertaken the University is now a model for the recently announced Accelerated Energy Program (AEP) for state agencies.

“Not only have our efforts to go green resulted in the University becoming a more environmentally responsible campus, they are saving us hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, which can be directed toward more critical needs,” said Framingham State President Timothy J. Flanagan.

The cost of the project was $7.1 million and is being funded through DCAMM. FSU is assuming debt service on $3.6 million of the total cost.

The annual energy cost savings is estimated at $735,000, which is more than twice the annual debt service payment. It adds up to nearly $15 million saved over the estimated 20-year life of the project.

In addition to the EPC, the University has also taken other steps to go green. They installed solar panels on two buildings, eliminated trays in the Dining Commons, and adjusted class schedules to reduce the number of days commuter students have to drive to campus.

North Hall, a 410-bed residence hall that opened in fall 2011, is LEED Gold Certified. FSU has also installed a composting system that recycles organic waste.

As per a report released last year, the Massachusetts clean energy economy grew by 11.2 percent from July 2011 to July 2012 and the sector now employs 71,523 people at 4,995 clean energy firms across Massachusetts, which is 1.7 percent of the total Massachusetts workforce.

Microsoft to Open Five New Retail Stores in US

Microsoft has announced that it will be opening five new retail store locations by this summer. This is in addition to the six stores the company announced it was opening late last year.

Microsoft Store

Microsoft Store (photo – microsoft.com)

The locations for the five new stores are as follows:-

- Natick Mall, Natick, Massachusetts;

- Ala Moana Center, Honolulu, Hawaii;

- Pioneer Place, Portland, Oregon;

- The Somerset Collection, Troy, Michigan; and

- Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg, Illinois.

In a blog post announcing these new locations, Jonathan Adashek, General Manager, Communications Strategy, Sales & Marketing Services Group, Microsoft, said that the exact dates for these store openings will be announced in the coming weeks.

“Please keep an eye out as we continue to open Microsoft retail stores near you – we can’t wait to welcome you into the Microsoft retail stores!,” added Adashek.

When making the Dec 2012 announcement, Adshek had noted that Microsoft was willing to adjust its strategy, and open additional stores to “deliver the choice, value and service our Microsoft customers have come to expect.”

Apart from the associate jobs created, taxes generated and the spillover to other businesses in the area, there are quite a few community development benefits related to a Microsoft Store.

For instance, every Microsoft retail store has a dedicated “Community Development Specialist” position. This employee works with local organizations to arrange in-store events and activities that help drive awareness of their causes within the community, while offering the opportunity to learn new technology skills.

Microsoft retail stores host events such as local chamber of commerce meetings and workshops for women re-entering the workforce.

Also, Microsoft celebrates each new retail store opening with a donation of more than $1 million in software grants to selected local organizations that will help create opportunities for local youth through technology, training and experiences that empower them to realize their full potential.

Last year, when Microsoft opened a retail store with 50 new jobs at the Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington, New York, they donated $1.5 million in software grants to local community organizations. As per the microsoftstore.com website, a total of $22 million has been similarly donated in communities where new stores have opened.

Last year, Microsoft opened 51 new Full-line and Specialty stores, including the company’s first international stores in Canada in Edmonton, Burnaby, Vancouver and Toronto. The London store opening in the United Kingdom next month will be Microsoft’s first store outside North America.

National Governors Association Report on Advanced Manufacturing

A new report published by the National Governors Association (NGA) chronicles the progress of eight states in preparing new strategies intended to build a foundation for success in advanced manufacturing.

NGA advanced manufacturing report - Making Our Future

NGA advanced manufacturing report – Making Our Future (photo – nga.org)

The report is titled “Making” Our Future: What States Are Doing to Encourage Growth in Manufacturing through Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Investment.

It was prepared by the NGA Center for Best Practices, with support and collaboration from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program.

“We are committed to supporting American businesses and workers in advanced manufacturing, which will help create jobs and strengthen our economy while boosting our global competitiveness,” said Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank. “The Commerce Department is proud to have partnered with the National Governors Association to produce a report that will undoubtedly prove valuable in helping our nation’s governors grow their local economies.”

The eight states whose strategies are outlined in the report include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania. Together, these states represent 30 percent of total manufacturing gross domestic product, one-third of U.S. manufacturing jobs and more than 25 percent of U.S. exports of manufactured goods.

Teams from these states participated in an intensive, year-long strategic planning process under the NGA Policy Academy to support advanced manufacturing. The interesting policy aspects developed by each state, and how it fits into an overall pattern of best practices for other states, are described in detail starting from page 21 in the report.

Excerpts below:-

Although the eight states arrived at their agendas independently of one another, their agendas are remarkably similar in key issues and priorities… Four objectives rose to the top across all states as the focus for their strategies:

- Pursue an integrated approach to developing an advanced manufacturing strategy, connecting large and small manufacturers, as well as state, federal, and regional partners;

- Develop and implement industry-driven priorities and partnerships;

- Boost the innovation and commercialization capacities of manufacturers, particularly small and midsized firms, by connecting them to partners, consortia, and a whole system of supports; and

- Provide talent both to fill the immediate specialized needs of employers and to deliver lifelong, industry relevant training for workers at all levels.

Broadly, there were three approaches to strategy development:

- Using statewide councils comprising large, midsized, and small manufacturers(Pennsylvania and Massachusetts);

- Emphasizing a regional, bottom-up process, involving a series of meetings of local public and private stakeholders (Colorado, New York, and California); or

- Assembling, improving, and coordinating activities that are already in progress (Kansas and Connecticut).

“Manufacturing in the U.S. is changing,” said Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett. “It is important that governors continue to learn so they are able to determine the best way forward, ensuring good businesses and jobs for our citizens.”

Read the full “Making” Our Future report – Download (pdf)

Report – Gateway City Transformative Redevelopment for Massachusetts

A white paper put together by Boston, Massachusetts-based think tank MassINC and its Gateway City Innovation Institute recommends that the Commonwealth should invest $1.7 billion over the next decade targeting its 24 Gateway Cities for transformative redevelopment.

MassINC gateway city transformative redevelopment report

MA Transformative Redevelopment report (photo – massinc.org)

The report says that the $1.7 billion investment could stimulate approximately $3.4 billion in new development and reuse, providing funds to make possible at least seven major transformative redevelopment projects and generating total reinvestment in Gateway Cities approaching $7 billion.

Economic impact analysis suggests this level of reinvestment activity would support approximately 80,000 jobs.

Gateway Cities are “Gateways” to the middle class and generations of families climbing the economic ladder.

Transformative redevelopment in this case refers to public and private financial support for projects that catalyze significant follow-on private investment, leading over time to the transformation of an entire downtown or urban neighborhood.

The report suggests a 10-point investment plan for applying this concept in Massachusetts. Highlights below:-

Transformative Redevelopment Fund – Commit to $125 million per year for the next 10 years for this fund, to be established in the economic development capital budget.

Loan Guarantee for Transformative Projects – A state loan guarantee program to support up to $1 billion in private lending.

Transformative Redevelopment Revolving Loan Fund – A $100 million interest-free or low-interest-rate revolving loan fund to support construction, upgrading, and fit-out of commercial spaces for marketing and delivery to tenants.

MassWorks Grant Program Expansion – Commit an additional $20 million per year overthe next 10 years.

Targeted Incentives for Homebuyers – State income tax credits capped at $5 million annually could go to households who buy and rehabilitate substandard houses in targeted neighborhoods.

Economic Development Programs that Catalyze Gateway City Markets – Includes expansion of existing programs, and $75 million for the creation of three satellite UMass campuses.

Build Gateway City Capacity – Community assistance teams for early-stage efforts. Also asks for $2.5 million to select, train, and place five mid-career professionals to serve four-year terms in Gateway City economic development agencies implementing transformative redevelopment plans.

Assemble data to identify market opportunities and evaluate progress – An annual expenditure of$150,000 could be used to collect, analyze, and make public resale and other market data in areas targeted for transformative development so that developers, financers, and policymakers can gain a better understanding of Massachusetts Gateway City markets and the impact of state investments.

Read the full report from MassINC

The Official Word on New Year Resolutions

Regardless of what happened to the resolutions made last year, you must have New Year Resolutions (NYR) once again. Your favorite federal agencies and state officials all have something to say about what you need to be doing in 2013.

Quit smoking in 2013 - New Year Resolutions

Quit smoking in 2013 – New Year Resolutions (photo – cdc.gov)

The CDC wants you to quit smoking in 2013. They say “it is the most important New Year’s resolution you may ever make.”

CDC has developed resources that tap into the tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions to encourage smokers to quit. Visit Smokefree.gov for more information.

FEMA wants to make disaster preparedness your NYR for 2013. They helpfully inform you that those who make New Year’s resolutions are 11 times more likely to report continued success in achieving a goal than individuals who have not made a resolution.

FEMA’s Ready Campaign unveiled a “Resolve to be Ready” initiative for 2013. They hope you will join the Ready Campaign this holiday season in promoting Resolve to be Ready.

USA.gov makes it easy by listing links to all the possible NYR choices from healthy eating to getting a better job and volunteering to help others.

The Commerce department was perhaps too tired to make any new resolutions after taking a shellacking of spending cuts in 2012. But they did wish everyone a Happy 2013, and shared this nugget of information – on January 1, 2013, the total United States population will be 315,091,138.

At the state level, the best NYR choice goes to Indiana Governor-elect Mike Pence, who says he wants to “do everything I can, every day, to make Indiana the state that works for every Hoosier.” Outgoing Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who has taken on a job as Purdue University president, wants to “to personally meet at least 5,000 Purdue students in 2013.”

On a local level, the winner was Konstantina B. Lukes, City Councilor-At-Large for Worchester, Massachusetts.  Go Local Worchester asked city officials for their NYR choices. Here’s what Konnie Lukes wants to do in 2013:

-          Have the City Council become a role model for Congress by solving the fiscal cliff issues between the City and School Committee.

-          Forever close all the police chief’s Twitter accounts.

-          Appoint a blue ribbon panel to study the impact of marijuana dispensing sites, slot parlors and the Assessor’s Office on the economic future of the City.

-          Do eminent domain takings of all tax-exempt properties in the City of Worcester.

-          Send the EPA a bill for disturbing the peace of Public Works Commissioner Bob Moylan.

-          Convince the City Council to read the reports of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau’s report before criticizing the reports.

On a global level, José Manuel Durão Barroso, president of the European Commission, says the EC’s NYR is sustainable development – not just for the year, but for a whole generation. Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper has an NYR suggestion for Canadians – go easy on consumer debt in 2013.

AFL-CIO HIT Investing $33.5M For Low-Income Housing in Boston

The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT) is investing $33.5 million of union pension funds to construct 129 apartments for low-income households in Boston, Massachusetts.

Old Colony, Boston redevelopment

Old Colony existing apartments contrast with new housing (photo – aflcio-hit.com)

The project will be located in Old Colony, one of Boston’s largest and most distressed public housing properties. It is expected to generate 340 union construction jobs.

The new investment is part of the HIT’s “Construction Jobs” Initiative, a national effort to get union construction workers back on the job through investments in housing projects.

Previously, the HIT invested $26.7 million in Old Colony’s $56.8 million first phase of redevelopment, which included 116 housing units and the 10,000-square-foot Joseph M. Tierney Learning Center.

The redevelopment plan is being carried out by the Boston Housing Authority and MassHousing in conjunction with the developer, Beacon Communities of Boston.

This latest $33.5 million investment is a part of the $61.4 million second phase of their plan. The success of the Old Colony master plan and its environmentally sustainable design is being looked at as a national model for reviving older urban communities.

The rehabilitation work is being carried out in accordance with LEED criteria for sustainable development and includes the replacement of aged infrastructure with energy-efficient systems to reduce operating costs.

“The HIT’s investment in the Old Colony redevelopment is part of our long-standing commitment to support the City of Boston in developing and preserving quality affordable housing for low-income families,” said HIT Senior Vice President Tom O’Malley, director of the HIT New England Regional Office. He added that the union-built project “is already helping improve the quality of life for residents, who are enjoying the new environmentally friendly housing and attractive outdoor green space.”

Since establishing the Construction Jobs initiative in 2009, HIT investments of $1.2 billion, together with $59.6 million of New Markets Tax Credits from the HIT’s subsidiary Building America CDE, have generated more than 15,000 union construction jobs across the country. The HIT has now set a new goal of creating 20,000 union construction jobs by year-end 2013.

Three thousand of these jobs have been created in Boston, Massachusetts. The HIT and its subsidiary have financed 10 projects in Boston since 2009, representing $646 million of development and 1,202 housing units.

1 2 3  Scroll to top