Winthrop, Massachusetts

WINTHROP , MASSACHUSETTS town center you can walk to.” Winthrop is primarily a bedroom community of Boston, with only a small amount of retail. Almost everybody commutes. So the push is on to bring a couple businesses of 100 or so employees to town. There is a vacant middle school property that’s a prime candidate for redevelopment; an RFP is going out this summer courting interest from any kind of business. Or it could turn into more housing. “At this point, it’s about expanding our tax base and not just putting the burden on the residents who live here,” says Faison. “I’ve always thought the middle school would be a great spot to pop in a boutique hotel. It has access to the city, to the beaches. The first thing that comes with development like that is the restaurants, maybe a brewery, and things grow around it. Winthrop is lacking those things now. We do have a couple boutique hotels in town, and a relatively vibrant Airbnb sector. We don’t have a lot of parking for our beaches, so its nice when people can stay at an Airbnb and just walk across the road to the shore.” The price of property alone is a draw. Winthrop offers lower-cost leases for businesses to set up; property values are low, so buying a building and tearing it down is totally manageable in this community. There is ample space for entrepreneurial endeavors, such as a craft brewery start-up. Faison believes that economic development is the town’s best bet right now. He tells companies, “If you’re looking to go to Boston or Cambridge, you could conceivably take on a piece of property here and lease it, or build your own headquarters. Your CEO could have an amazing view of the water and the boats from their office. I’m at the table with everyone I can to show them the tangible opportunities in Winthrop. We want someone that’s interested in investing here for the foreseeable future and growing with the town.” Climate concerns are at the forefront of every decision. As part of the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program, Winthrop had an assessment done in early 2018 to prioritize projects that need to be done. “Winthrop is the canary in the coal mine for Boston, in terms of pictured Belle Isle Marsh