The Revitalist

The Globe has thorough coverage of the debate between most of the Gubernatorial candidates last night. The focus was on jobs, economic growth and housing.

Duval Patrick was asked about the fact that no towns have adopted new state incentives for new transit-oriented, center-city housing. He responded by pointing out the loss of young, highly educated workers due to the high cost of living. He had two solutions: streamlining the approvals process for developers and investing in public transportation to connect jobs in Boston to cheaper housing markets in other cities. While streamlining of the approvals process will certainly ease some of the uncertainty around developing in Massachusetts, the reality is that new developments at moderate market rates aren't going to happen in these second- and third-tier cities without some help from the state (e.g.  State Tax Credit for Historic Rehabilitation). And they certainly aren't going to happen in Boston and the inner-ring suburbs without significant subsidy.

When asked about economic growth in Massachusetts beyond Boston, Chris Gabrieli pointed out that his biotech initiative can reach out to other cities and that with improved transportation connections, these cities have a better chance of attracting tech businesses. He specifically mentioned the mill rehabs in Lawrence and the software company Blacksmith Applications (based out of Chet Sidell's 60 Island Street - just a few buildings down from WM Lofts) as a successful strategy for growth that needs to be built upon. Great plug for Lawrence on its way up!

The candidates all identified the fact that the high cost of housing/living is in part responsible for the recent population loss and the need for more affordable housing. However, no one really made a strong connection between the loss of highly educated workers and the need for moderately priced housing (not "affordable housing" but housing that is affordable for young families and the middle class). It seems to me that some of the Romney administration's smart growth initiatives are addressing the problem by offering incentives for more than just subsidized housing, but the fact that this is a serious issue for the state hasn't really trickled down out of the policy/development crowd to the individual cities and towns and to the population at large.