Officials Say Town Working Hard to Attract Businesses

Even as persistently vacant retail storefronts and ever-rising residential tax bills frustrate some residents, Westborough officials say they are doing all they can to make the town more attractive and welcoming to businesses of all sizes. 

“Westborough has worked and continues to work very hard to do all we can to bring businesses into the community,” said Selectman Tim Dodd. “For a very long time, we have had one of the highest percentages of businesses versus resident tax burden in the state. But that being said, that percentage has shrunk.”

That is due in part to a surge in residential growth and a decrease in commercial property value tied to economic pressures. Officials also acknowledge that businesses seem to be more mobile than ever.

Witness recent defections of retailers such as TJMaxx and BJ’s from Westborough to the Northborough Crossing and the departure of major corporate tenants such as National Grid, which was replaced when BJ’s moved its own corporate headquarters from Natick to Westborough.

Westborough Town Planner Jim Robbins said despite that churn, the town helped attract or create 4,200 new jobs in the past year and noted that the town earning Economic Target Area designation opens the door for it to offer tax increment financing plans to new businesses. The town's efforts are now spearheaded by the Economic Development Committee 

“Both the Planning Board and the Economic Development Committee are doing many things, from creating new zoning to attract new business, to obtaining Economic Target Area designation from the State, to becoming a Bio-Ready Community--providing competitive advantages when attracting biotech companies--to personally calling and visiting existing Westborough companies and recruiting new businesses,” Robbins told Patch.

Patch reader Amy Buttiglieri posed the question of what officials are doing to bring business to town during . “ We have too many empty storefronts, and I'd like to know how they're addressing the issue,” she wrote, adding that she tries to do her own part to support area business by keeping her spending local.

Dodd said officials are always looking for new approaches to marketing the town, which has long used its location at the intersection of major highways and in the center of New England as a key competitive advantage.

The Economic Development Committee has also developed a brochure to market the town to businesses, Dodd noted.  

“We’re lucky to have so many residents with great business backgrounds willing to work on behalf of the town,” Dodd said, adding that in the end, “a lot of factors play into why a business decides to come to a community.”

Recent successes cited by officials include the redevelopment of the long-dormant , the arrival of at Bay State Commons and the decision of Westboro Paint and Decorating to open a hardware store a the shuttered .

“We are always out looking at what other towns do and trying to refine our approach,” Dodd said.

What do you think? Is the town doing enough to attract and retain businesses? Do you have any ideas for officials to pursue? And what do you do to help support local businesses? Tell us in the comments.