Parts of Pittsfield, Worcester among 12 new districts in MassDevelopment program

February 15, 2022 : Spectrum News 1

MASS. - The Baker-Polito Administration announced an expansion of the Transformative Development Initiative, a MassDevelopment program for Gateway Cities designed to speed up economic growth within focused districts. 

Tuesday’s announcement includes the selection of 12 new districts in Pittsfield, Worcester, Attleboro, Barnstable (Hyannis), Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, New Bedford, Revere, Springfield, and Taunton and the extension of an existing district in Fall River. 

“Gateway Cities are home to one-of-a-kind businesses, institutions, and communities that anchor regional economies across the Commonwealth,” Gov. Charlie Baker said. “Our Administration was proud to launch MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative in 2015 as a mechanism for stimulating economic growth, and we’re excited to now expand this proven program’s reach in more than a dozen cities.”

The new district in Worcester will include the Pleasant Street area. In Pittsfield, the program will focus on downtown. 

MassDevelopment has previously designated 16 TDI districts and has provided other support through the program in five additional cities. Existing districts in Chicopee, Fitchburg, Lawrence, and Worcester will graduate from the program in June 2022.

Each district is awarded a TDI fellow, a MassDevelopment employee who will provide on-the-ground economic development expertise and collaborative leadership in these cities – and will have access to a range of tools to help accelerate development, including technical help, grants to support local market development and arts and cultural infrastructure, collaborative workshops, resources, events, and more. 

Tuesday’s announcement more than doubles the size of the program and represents a $23.7 million investment in Gateway Cities over three years.