Worcester is Losing Out On More Than We Think Because of Commercial Tax Rates

[Brian J Allen]

Here is an article that appeared in the Worcester Chamber Exchange.

I've been hammering away at this issue for years on my BiggerPockets blog.

Let's not belabor the point, but Worcester's commercial tax rate is directly shaping what gets built in the city.

Sure, you can spot all the shiny new residential developments in Worcester, but where are the hotels? Why does a city of 200,000 souls have a paltry 1132 hotel rooms? Compare that to Providence, with 5500 hotel rooms, 1700 of which are within walking distance of their arena.

This has a direct impact on the City not being eligible to host NCAA and major conference sporting events.

The data in this article is mind-boggling. A hotel property owner could pocket an extra $270k a year by building in one of the surrounding towns instead of Worcester. And don't get me started on grocery stores – building one in Worcester instead of Shrewsbury would cost the property owner an extra $220k annually.

City councilors, can we please get some action here? Let's bring back the lost development, events, and jobs to the heart of the Commonwealth.