Civil Municipal Magazine Aug 2023

217 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 8 SWANSEA , MASSACHUSET TS Drive, a main commercial thoroughfare which was the previous location of a mall that was closed in 2019. “It’s a big economic black eye in that sense, and the town quickly got to work in 2019 establishing a Redevelopment Authority that would help remove some easements and restrictions on the deed to help for better commercial activity there,” Aronstein relays. The mall property itself has been purchased by Brady Sullivan Developments who are giving it a full renovation and welcoming enterprises such as Crunch Fitness, storage solution providers, and a local church. “We would like to see some more development there and be host to these new companies looking for a home. Swansea wants to be that home,” she conveys. In collaboration with the Massachusetts Economic Development Authority, Swansea can offer the PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program, which supports businesses in expanding or renovating, through the provision of capital and support, allowing companies to embrace clean energy solutions. “It’s not a traditional bank loan, it’s much more business-friendly and allows for some flexibility of capital, which everybody could use,” Aronstein maintains. “It’s a great program and has a really low impact on the municipality. We’re not involved in collections. We don’t have to worry about any of that. It’s just an option that signifies that Swansea is open for business, and we certainly are.” The town has also entered into a tax increment financing agreement with the local entity Isabellenhuette USA which has been part of the community for many years and was considering expansion. Aronstein elaborates, “They wanted to see which tax incentives could be given to them, and we entered into this agreement that opened the doors for further incentives at the state and federal level, which is really where the savings is. By doing so Swansea can retain this business and have some localized jobs with benchmarks governed and overseen by the state. So again, low impact