Mansfield, Massachusetts

BVM: What types of industries are in Mansfield? Burke: “There are over 5,000 jobs at our Cabot Business Park and a lot of recent hiring. We have employers making surgical instruments; luggage; Chrysler and Toyota are there. We also have Cardinal Health Care, and Rolf C. Hagen, one of the largest pet goods companies in the country. There are sites available, and several companies seeking site approval. We recently had a 100,000-sq.-ft. flex building go up; half is housing an electric components wholesaler, and the other half is a Rolls Royce jet engine electronics repair facility. It’s a very diverse park.” Dumas: “We’re also fortunate to see massive investment in the downtown. There’s a local developer who’s fully permitted to build a multi- story building with an additional 100 units, smack in the middle of downtown Mansfield. Completion will take a year to 18 months. The overlay district across from the train station should produce at least another 350 dwelling units. That’s the area where we see the most growth, especially in one and two bedroom condominium units or apartment rentals. People want to be in the downtown and right next to the rail. The former Lowney Chocolate Factory, on the outskirts of downtown along the rail line, is being developed into 130 apartment units, and over 34,000 square feet for a pub and offices. So, there are many more housing units coming online, in addition to single family homes. In a subdivision under construction now, homes range from $800,000 to $1.2 million. And that’s abutting a highway.” BVM: Does the town support entrepreneurs and small business start-ups? Dumas: “Absolutely. Whether it’s an existing business that’s expanding, or a new business interested in coming in, they first start at my office at Town Hall. Our team sits down with them to determine their needs, and whatever way we can assist them to get to a ‘yes.’ Tax increment financing (TIF) is working very well. Last May, we did a small personal property tax exemption for the Rolf. C. Hagen company via the TIF program.