Westward ho!
That’s the slogan on the minds of state economic development officials this week as they touted Western Massachusetts as the new land of business opportunity to technology leaders in Boston.
We applaud the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, an independent state agency, for showcasing what the west has to offer during Monday’s conference aimed at Boston-area business leaders. It’s not often such an event is dedicated solely to business opportunities west of Interstate-495.
Over the last decade, the region’s economy has languished while Greater Boston has prospered from the high-tech boom – a fact that has led to great frustration in economic development circles here. But, the landscape is changing and Western Massachusetts can no longer be counted out.
A series of recent infrastructure investments make this particularly auspicious time for the western counties to become the state’s next frontier for new high-tech niches. Developments include: Construction of a $168 million high-performance computing center in Holyoke; a $110 million state data center near downtown Springfield; and installation of a 1,100-mile fiber optic cable for high-speed Internet to rural parts of Western Massachusetts. Springfield and other cities in the region already have high-speed Internet.
U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, who championed the region at the conference, noted that public investments help create jobs. Just as the $15 billion spent on Boston’s new central artery helped spark the Boston-area economy, he said, the investment in Western Massachusetts’ high-speed infrastructure will do the same. Neal said the lower cost of labor, housing and office rental make Western Massachusetts a bargain.
We believe there are compelling reasons for businesses to consider locating to Western Massachusetts.
So, we have this advice: Go West, young startup.
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