Middlesex 3 Coalition: John Curran, Town Manager, Town of Billerica

What is the most exciting job/project/goal for your company/city or town in 2021? Billerica has made major investments in its physical infrastructure, improving its schools, roads, sewer systems, and public buildings, most notably the completion of a state of the art $176 million high school complex that will be a wonderful asset to generations of Billerica families. These projects have helped lead to new private investment, including the redevelopment of the Billerica Mall, which will bring 230 residential units and 18,000 s/f of new commercial space to the center of town. In addition, Home Depot is installing a multimillion dollar 715,000 s/f operations and distribution center that will serve as one of their major hubs and create many new jobs across the region. Finally, developer Alliance Residential opened the first phase of their 211-unit multifamily development this year, bringing needed workforce units to town.

What do you like the most about doing business in the M3 region? This region understands that if we collaborate, we can advance the outcomes for every municipality. Billerica draws its workforce from across the M3 area, so creating more places to live and investing in transportation infrastructure throughout the region helps everyone thrive. Every town in the region has something to offer, and this partnership helps create opportunities for new businesses and residents to call these municipalities home. Billerica has worked to streamline the permit process and make it easy for new businesses to locate here. Town staff enjoys working with new businesses to facilitate opportunities for the M3 region.

What types of companies are your city or town looking to attract? Billerica is well known as a popular location for many larger companies with recognizable names like EMD Serono and Merck, and newer companies on the cutting edge like E Ink and ClearMotion. We are particularly interested in bringing life sciences and biotechnology companies to Billerica, and MassBio has certified us a Platinum level BioReady Community. We have successfully pre-permitted sites for Biotech use in the past, and are willing to work with companies that have similar needs and would like to move to Billerica. There are new amenities and restaurants coming along with the mixed-use development near these sites, which will make the town even more attractive as a business location.

What would you tell a company looking to move to the M3 region? This region, and Billerica in particular, have exactly the right mix of a convenient location, a skilled workforce, and cost-effective real estate prices that make it the perfect place to locate your company. Billerica is near three major highways (Rtes. 3, 495, and 128) and has commuter rail and bus access. There are highly educated workers across the region with a diverse skill set, and the towns across the region are desirable places to live, with Billerica having a median household income above $105,000. Billerica has available office and industrial sites with room to build as well.