Table Of Content

BOSTONPUBLICLIBRARY BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY SOV DOC \BRA 1^63 7 BUILDING BOSTON'S ECONOMIC FUTURE v ANAGENDA FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CITYOFBOSTON RAYMONDL.FLYNN.MAYOR OCTOBER1991 AMessagefromMayorFlynn October1991 ThesearetoughtimesforthepeopleandbusinessesofBostonandtheCommon- wealth. Weareinthemidstofaregionalrecessionthat,insomerespects,isthe worstwe'veseeninfiftyyears. Peopleareworried. Friends, therearestrongreasonsforhope. Bostonhasbeenaroundforalong timeandhasrebuiltitseconomytimeandagaintoachieveevergreaterlevels ofprosperity. We possess the resourcesand the know-how to start the turn- aroundandbuildacompetitiveeconomyforaworldmarketplaceincreasingly foundedoninnovationandknowledge-basedindustries. Boston'seconomywillcomebackstrong. Youcanbetonit Wemuststartthe effortnow. Togetfromheretothererequireshardworkandacleargameplan. Forthepast year,myadministrationhasbeenmeetingwithbusiness, political,labor,relig- ious,academic,andcommunityleaderstocometoabetterunderstandingofour current situation and to chart a course for economic recovery and long-term growth. This report summarizes a $4.5 billion agenda for economic development. It remainsadocumentinprocess,aframeworkfordiscussion. Itprovidesthebasis forthedialoguewewillhaveattheEconomicStrategyConferencetobeheldin mid-November. Someoftheideas,projectsandproposalscontainedinthisdocumenthavebeen putforthbeforeindifferentforums. Someareofrecentvintage;some,entirely new. Nowisthetimeto putforwardanintegratedframeworkofideasonthe economy. To be effective in getting the economy moving again and putting peoplebacktoworknow,weneedyourinsights,adviceandcontinuingsupport. Ihopethisdocumentstimulatesideasand,evenmoreimportantly,action. We cannotdo italone. TheCity,StateandFederalGovernments, privatebusiness andthepeopleofBostonallhaveaparttoplay. Ourchildrenaredependingon usto build a strong, new economy thatwill provide fulfillingwork, a decent standardoflivingandabetterqualityoflifeinthe1990'sand thenextcentury. Sincerelv, *t^ RaymondL.Flynn MavorofBoston T ABLE OF CONTENTS ExecutiveSummary 1 Thechallengeweface: buildingastrongeconomicfuturefor Boston 6 TheimportanceofBoston'scoreeconomytoboththeCityandCom- monwealth 9 GoalOne: Commitonebilliondollarsinthenext24monthsto create7,000newjobs 12 GoalTwo: Diversifyandstrengthen GreaterBoston'score economy 15 GoalThree: Improvetheclimatefordoingbusinessandattracting investment 26 GoalFour: Investinnecessarytransportationsystems tobalanceeconomicgrowthandenvironmentalquality 32 GoalFive: Assurethatjobsandeconomicbenefitsaresharedbyall Bostonresidents 37 GoalSix: ImprovethequalityoflifeforBoston'sresidents, workers,andvisitors 45 AvisionforBoston 47 TheBostoneconomicdevelopmentpartnership 50 Tablesandcharts 51 E xecutive Summary Itistimeforaggressive,concertedactionontheeconomy. Therecession in Massachusetts is worse, in many respects, than any since the Great Depression. Statewide,10percentofalljobshavebeenlostoverthepast two years. Unemployment is at 9.2percent. Since 1989, 24banks and threecreditunions havefailedinthestateand tightcreditcontinues to restrict business growth. Just as troubling as the current recession is Massachusetts'lossduringthe1980sof150,000jobsinthemanufacturing sector,akeycomponentoftheregion'seconomicwell-being. Federal policies to stimulate the economy on the national level have resultedinaweakeconomicrecovery. Manyobserversfeelthatwithout moreaggressivestepsbytheBushAdministrationtheeconomywillslip backintorecession. BuildingBoston'sEconomicFutureisanagendaforeconomicdevelop- mentwhichcontainsa$4.5billionplantocreate30,000jobsoverthenext 5to7years. ThecityofBostonhasbegunthistaskbecauseofitscritical positionintheCommonwealth'seconomy. Boston,withonly9.5percent of the Commonwealth's population, provides nearly 17 percent of the state's jobs, 21 percent of personal income by place of work, and 24 percentoftotalgoodsandservicesproduced. Anestimated22percent ofstaterevenueoriginatesinBoston. FortheMassachusettseconomyto rebound,Bostonmustleadtheway. The agenda contains a series of strategies designed to realize six key goals. Itstartswitha$1.2billionpipelineofnewinvestment. I. Commit One Billion Dollars in the next 24 Months to Create New 7,000 Jobs. 1. BuildplannedmedicalresearchfacilitiessuchasJoslinDiabetesCen- ter, Olmsted Plaza Phase I, and South End Technology Square repre- sentingover$225million. 2. Buildfournewpublicbuildingsscheduledfornear-termconstruction: the new $41 million Boston Police Headquarters in Roxbury; the $184 millionfederalcourthouseontheFanPierinSouthBoston;thefirstphase oftheSouthStationTechnopolis,a$75millionMBTAtransitcenter;and a brand new $170 million Boston City Hospital, the city's largest-ever capitalundertaking. 3. Build two key commercial projects: the first phase ofthe Prudential CenterredevelopmentandtheRugglesCentercomplexinRoxbury,the new home of the State's Registry of Motor Vehicles administration, togetherrepresenting$91millioninvestment. 4. Constructsixkeyhospitalfacilities: MassachusettsGeneralHospital's InpatientTower,Brigham&Women'sclinicalsupportfacility,theShri- nersBurnsReplacementBuilding,St.Margaret'snewfacilityatSt.Eliza- beth'sHospital,andaclinicalbuildingatNewEnglandDeaconess,fora combinedinvestmentof$377million. — These pr—ojectsalone with constructionstartdateswithinthenext 15 months willcreatenearly7,000directjobsinconstruction,engineering, architecture,law,accountingandotherrelatedactivities. II. Diversifyand Strengthen GreaterBoston'sCoreEconomy. 5. Develop biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical instrument manufacturing to build on Boston's existing strength in universities, hospitalsandresearchcenters. 6. ImproveandaddtoBoston'scultural,historicandsportsattractions. 7. ExpandBoston'shospitalityindustrybymovingforwardwithhotels attheCustomHouseandtheWorldTradeCenter. 8. StrengthenretailtradebyenhancingthedistinctcharacterofBoston's specialretailboulevardsandcenters. 9. Boostbasicmanufacturingthroughtaxpolicy,effectivelanddisposi- tion,enhancedvocationaleducation,andtaxablebondfinancing. 10. Expand Boston's port through dredging, land transportation im- provements,andpromotionofshiprepairandexport-relatedmanufac- turing. 11. ContinuethemodernizationofBoston'spremierhospitalsandinsti- tutionsandexpandtheirresearchfacilities. III. Improve the Climate for Doing Business and Attracting Investment. 12. Maintainbasiccityservicestoattractinvestmentandstrengthenthe economy. 13. Reduceunnecessaryregulatoryburdensonbusiness. 14. Providelowerutilitycostsforbusinessescreatingnewmanufactur- ingjobs. 15. ControlthecostoftheBostonHarborclean-up. 16. Improve access to investment capital and credit by re-evaluating federal and state tax policy, providing tax incentives and credits, and makingavailablepublictaxablebondfinancing.