Governor Patrick celebrates green business and life sciences at Cummings Center

Governor Deval Patrick participated in a ribbon cutting ceremony for Cummings Center's new solar installation, atop West Garage at the corner of Elliott and McKay Sts. Almost 200 local residents and employees gathered to hear the commonwealth's top official speak about two of his administration's priorities: encouraging green business practices and growing a robust local life sciences industry. Other government officials participating in the event included commissioner Mark Sylvia of Mass. Department of Energy Resources, senate majority leader Fred Berry, state representative Jerry Parisella, mayor Bill Scanlon, and Ward 3 city councilor Jim Latter. According to Cummings Center's vice president and general manager, Steve Drohosky, the business and technology campus already hosts 600 kilowatts of solar arrays. With two more very large installations in development, he expects Cummings Center's solar projects will eventually exceed 1.5 megawatts, saving an estimated $2.5 million in energy costs annually. Dennis Clarke, president and CEO of Cummings Properties, said that Cummings Center itself is a major recycling project. Formerly home to United Shoe Machinery Corp., the neglected parcel evolved into a derelict brown fields site. The commercial real estate firm purchased it in 1996, and retained much of the historic structure while transforming the property into a model green business campus. Governor Patrick told the audience, "I stand before you proudly to endorse Cummings Center and the whole Cummings organization for their exceptional business stewardship." Other recent green projects at Cummings Center include the installation of 12,000 energy efficient light fixtures, dozens of super high efficiency gas-fired boilers and, in cooperation with client firm Meridian Associates, an electric vehicle charging station. Three of the campus' buildings have earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star certification, signifying the achievement of strict energy performance levels. Governor Patrick also recognized Cummings Center as a site of growth for the Commonwealth's life sciences industry. The campus is home to 40 life sciences companies, which occupy more than 500,000 s/f of office and laboratory space. According to Drohosky, this number has increased from 25 companies only four years ago. On-site life sciences firms include giants in the field, such as Hamilton Thorne Biosciences and Waters Technologies, as well as promising new companies, like Enzymatics and Sage Science. Cummings Properties is also a sponsor of North Shore InnoVentures, which operates the Biotech InnoVenture Center at Cummings Center. This not-for-profit incubator offers shared laboratory space to six early-stage companies.