Pleasant Street joins concentrated economic development program

February 18, 2022

Worcester’s Pleasant Street will be one of the state’s next participants in the Transformative Development Initiative, a program dedicated to accelerating economic growth in Gateway Cities.

The MassDevelopment program concentrates economic development activities, resources, and investments in a designated neighborhood for terms of two to four years. TDI districts are mixed-use commercial areas defined as walkable and dense, and are located in the 26 gateway cities like Fitchburg, Lowell, and Springfield, according to the Thursday press release from the City of Worcester announcing the Pleasant Street district.

Pleasant Street was one of 12 new districts added to the TDI program this year. All the new districts will be awarded TDI fellows, who are MassDevelopment employees who provide on-the-ground expertise and leadership.

Previously, Worcester’s other TDI districts have included the downtown Theatre District and a section of Main Street in the city’s Main South neighborhood. The Theatre District was one of the original TDI districts and ended in June 2018, according to the City of Worcester City website. The Main South TDI district will graduate in June.

MassDevelopment’s TDI program has invested a total of $23.7 million over three years.