Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Wilmington Readies for Economic Growth

I was very happy to attend last night’s Wilmington Board of Selectmen meeting with Secretary of Housing and Economic Development for the state Jay Ash and Representative Ken Gordon.

We came together with the Selectmen, Town Manager Jeff Hull, and others to work together to help the town reinvigorate commercial and retail business development along sections of Route 38. A main component of this process will be engaging residents to assess the specific types of development that would be advantageous.

With the town‘s interest in mind, I was able to successfully add two authorizations for funding in the Economic Development Bond Bill in one of the Senate’s final formal actions for the session:
o at least $1,000,000 for improvements to commuter parking and other facilities for the North Wilmington commuter rail station.
o at least $250,000 for economic development infrastructure improvements on the Route 38 corridor.

With support from Governor Baker’s administration, the collaboration that exists, and the tools that we are gathering to use – like the town’s partnership with the Donahue Institute to complete a market analysis, we will continue to work together to promote sustainable commercial development and a positive living environment for residents.