Writings
Choices for Worcester, page 4
2. Downtown
Dick Traina’s report on Worceester Center is current reality. Worcester’s revitalization will not be led by remodeling the Galleria. It’s not in the cards. Downtown rebuilding is not the key to the High Road. Downtown development – in small, incremental and tasteful steps – can be a byproduct of making progress on the five previously mentioned driving forces.
3. Pockets of Vitality
There is good news that distinguishes Worcester from the majority of cities heading down the Main Road.
We have pockets of vitality where excellence of some form is pursued and achieved in some degree. Worcester is blessed many times in this regard. Building on these strengths can be the wellspring for our city’s renewal. Here are some that come quickly to mind:
- Holy Cross, WPI, and Clark hold high ratings from Barron’s. By any reasonable definition, that achievement for each college qualifies for the accolade “excelling.” Few cities in the United States have three schools with comparable rank.
- The University of Mass Medical complex is a top-flight teaching hospital, a nationally recognized medical research center and highly respected medical school.
- Worcester’s Biotech Park, provide the infrastructure and momentum to be one of the country’s centers in this emerging field of technology.
- Worcester, for a city with a population of 160,000, has an impressive array of business activity. Here are but a few examples:
- Norton, a Fortune 500 company, dominates the international market for industrial abrasives and is a strong player in the emerging industrial ceramic market.
- Insurance companies – State Mutual, Paul Revere and Hanover, operate nationally and annually take in premium over $5,000,000,000 and manage over $15,000,000,000 in assets. They employ over 11,000 people nationally (5,200 in the Worcester area).
- Wyman Gordon – a major supplier to manufacturers of aircraft is a Fortune 500 company.
- The city’s cultural assets include the Worcester Art Museum and the annual musical festival each of which enjoy national distinction in their respective fields.
- Non-profit organizations such as the Worcester Economic Club, Greater Worcester Community Foundation and the Mercy Center all excel in their respective fields.
- Our new magnet schools are exciting steps forward in improving public education.
- Many Main Road cities have downtowns that are cosmetically more attractive but are surrounded by decaying neighborhoods. Worcester’s neighborhoods from Shrewsbury Street to the West Side, from Burncoat to Grafton Hill, from Webster Square to Tatnuck, retain their social fiber and are important potential sources of renewal. Recent progress in Main South is impressive.
This list is not intended to be complete but instead to illustrate that Worcester has numerous core strengths upon which to build a thriving city. By and large, these institutions, organizations, companies and neighborhoods are under-appreciated.