FY2014 - FY2018 Capital Investment Plan
Report - Capital Investments in Gateway Cities
The FY14-18 Capital
Investment Plan carries out the Patrick Administration’s commitment to create
growth and opportunity for the Commonwealth’s citizens and businesses today and
into the future. Strategic investments in education, innovation and
infrastructure drive economic growth and position Massachusetts to succeed in
the 21st century. Creating a competitive business environment is
dependent on investing in the roads, rails and other public infrastructure that
serve businesses, their employees and their clients. Constructing
state-of-the-art facilities on the Commonwealth’s public college and university
campuses invests in our most important resource and reinforces our position as
a hub of education and the knowledge economy. Targeted capital investments
have enabled the Commonwealth to emerge from the recession faster than most
states and will continue to allow the Commonwealth to grow at a faster pace
than the national growth rate.
Investment in our Gateway
Cities is critical to the Commonwealth’s overall economic growth. These cities
are defined as municipalities with populations between 35,000 and 250,000,
median household incomes below the state average, and rates of educational
attainment of a bachelor’s degree or above that are below the state average.
Launched in 2008 with a total of 11 communities, there are now 26
municipalities across Massachusetts that meet this definition. These cities
often have storied histories as regional industrial and manufacturing centers;
however, more recently they have endured economic hardships.

Original Gateway Cities
Brockton |
Fall River |
Fitchburg |
Haverhill |
Holyoke |
Lawrence |
Lowell |
New Bedford |
Pittsfield |
Springfield |
Worcester |
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Additional Gateway Cities
Attleboro |
Barnstable |
Chelsea |
Chicopee |
Everett |
Leominster |
Lynn |
Malden |
Methuen |
Peabody |
Quincy |
Revere |
Salem |
Taunton |
Westfield |
Capital investments in the
Gateway Cities have come in a variety of forms, including: municipal grant
awards to modernize public infrastructure and attract new businesses and
industries; expansion of community college campuses in downtown,
high-accessibility areas; and the redevelopment of parks and shared spaces in
environmental justice neighborhoods. For residents of environmental justice
neighborhoods, or neighborhoods where lower-income and minority populations are
faced with a disproportionately high share of environmental burdens, these
parks and shared spaces are often the first step towards social and economic
equality.
Accomplishments to Date
- The Patrick
Administration has invested over $2.5 B in capital funding in Gateway
Cities since 2008. These investments include:
- More than $1.05 B
in capital funding on new, expanded or renovated Commonwealth facility construction
in the Gateway Cities;
- Over
$1.17 B in energy and environmental-related capital funding, including projects
related to drinking water protection, urban parks, smart growth and
wetland restoration;
- More
than $176 M in MassWorks grants that directly impacted Gateway Cities;
and
- Approximately
$27 M in Urban Revitalization Development Grants.
- These investments have
resulted in thousands of temporary or permanent jobs in Gateway Cities.
The MassWorks program, in particular, has been at the forefront of job
creation, supporting the creation of over 1,600 jobs in Gateway Cities
from fiscal years 2008 through 2013.
- Higher education investments
have also increased the economic vitality of Gateway Cities across the
Commonwealth. In the Gateway Cities, funding for state university and
community college projects totals $283.1 M, and spending for the
University of Massachusetts System is $56.6 M through FY13. Highlighted
investments include:
- The $74 M Library
and Learning Commons at Salem State University, which strengthens the
academic heart of the campus by providing space where students come
together to learn in an innovative and interdisciplinary manner supported
by state-of-the-art technology and traditional library services;
- The
$40 M Health and Social Sciences Building on UMass Lowell’s South Campus,
which is the first new academic building constructed from the ground up
on the South Campus in over 30 years; and
- Renovations
to Worcester State University’s Administration Building in June 2009.
This $21.2 M project was the first comprehensive renovation of the
building since it was constructed in 1931.
- Innovation
and infrastructure projects have also been a central pillar of the Administration’s
strategy to spread growth and opportunity to Gateway Cities. Select
highlights include:
- The
Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital (WRCH), a 320 bed state-of-the-art
facility, which exemplifies the new model of mental health care that
encourages recovery rather than prolonged hospitalization. In addition,
the WRCH was designed to meet LEED Gold certification for its “green”
design and construction. The innovative design provides an environment
of care that maximizes the effectiveness of clinical and rehabilitation
staff, allowing the facility to operate at an optimum ratio of staff to
patients;
- The
Commonwealth continues its record of investment in the Worcester Line
commuter rail service. The 2012 purchase of the line by the Commonwealth
has enabled control of dispatching and the expansion of service. Service
to Worcester will be increased to 20 round trips, improving train
frequency and travel options for residents on the corridor;
- A
$26.4 M MassWorks grant to the Massachusetts Green High Performance
Computing Center for the construction of the $160 M Mass Green High
Performance Computing Center.
FY14 Highlights
- The
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) is launching a
pilot program in FY14 to “Green the Gateway Cities”. This program will
provide additional urban tree cover to several environmental justice
neighborhoods across the Commonwealth. This initiative will provide
social, and economic benefits, such as the reduction of residential energy
costs, the reduction of stormwater treatment costs and the reduction of
the “Urban Heat Island” effects that are aggravated by climate change and
pose a serious health threat to residents in environmental justice
neighborhoods. EEA is working with other Commonwealth agencies as well as
private entities to leverage this investment into an enhanced and expanded
program in the future.
- The
Commonwealth is funding $96 M in Gateway Cities state facility projects through
DCAMM in FY14.
- More
than 286 jobs will be created in FY14 through DCAMM capital projects and
MassWorks infrastructure grants.
- The South
Coast Rail project will re-establish transit connections from the cities
of Fall River, New Bedford and Taunton to Boston, while maximizing the
economic benefits of the project by realizing the vision articulated in
the South Coast Rail Economic Development and Land Use Corridor Plan,
issued in June of 2009. Fall River, New Bedford and Taunton are the
Commonwealth’s only cities within 50 miles of Boston that are not
connected to Boston by passenger rail service.
- Community
college campuses located within the Gateway Cities will receive
significant investment in FY14, allowing these Gateway communities to
thrive by offering state-of-the-art facilities and equipment that will
assist in workforce training as well as creating an academic environment to
prepare community college students interested in continuing their
education into baccalaureate programs. Through renovation, addition, and
brand new construction, the FY14-18 Capital Investment Plan invests
heavily in the sciences in every region of the Commonwealth, including the
following Gateway Cities: Lawrence, Lynn, Brockton, Barnstable, Worcester,
Holyoke, and Pittsfield. The FY14-18 Capital Plan also provides capital
investments to the Springfield, Lowell, Haverhill, and Fall River Gateway
Communities.
- The state
universities and University of Massachusetts campuses promote economic
growth within Gateway Cities by attracting businesses that wish to hire
the top talent produced by the Commonwealth’s public education system.
Investing in the campuses that are located within the Gateway Cities
increases opportunity and accessibility by removing the barriers often
faced by residents of Gateway Cities who strive to receive a top-quality
education using state-of-the-art facilities and equipment. FY14 investments
at Salem State University and UMass Lowell will provide the campuses and
the Gateway Cities that support them with facilities that will attract top
science, engineering, and business students as well as firms that wish to
locate to the Gateway Cities in order to establish a pipeline of recruiting
talent.