Economic Development Director, Melisa Tintocalis, spoke at a recent Select Board meeting about how her department is helping to maintain a thriving Burlington Business Community, and why that is so important.
The Economic Development Office is a relatively new one for the town, having been established about four years ago. As Tintocalis laid them out, the main objectives of the department are to:
- Promote and support existing businesses
- Invest in the Town Center and small businesses
- Enhance the ecosystem for innovation
- Proactively plan for long-term growth
The Office has been hard at work for four years to achieve these objectives: They created the Bring Me to Burlington website to demonstrate the appeal of Burlington to prospective businesses and visitors; they’ve sought grant funding to support work to improve the look and feel of the Town Center; they’ve held events to bring the community together and highlight local businesses; they’ve joined into professional partnerships with industry groups; and more. Burlington has also been accepted into the Vacant Storefronts Program, which provides tax credits for leasing and occupying vacant storefronts in a defined downtown district.
And why is this work so important? That’s because a thriving Burlington Business Community is one of the main ingredients in maintaining the quality of life many Burlington residents have come to enjoy. According to numbers presented by Tintocalis, the commercial sector is worth about $3.5 billion dollars, while residential property values are at around $6 billion. Yet, businesses pay a much larger proportion of the taxes, at $88 million per year compared with $53 million from the residential sector.
This is money that goes towards things like residential trash pickup (which is free in Burlington, unlike in many other towns), free bus transportation for kids, the award-winning recreation department, maintenance of roads and public spaces, paying municipal employees including our public safety professionals, and so much more.
This relationship is mutually beneficial, but also tenuous. As businesses work to redefine what it means to “come to work,” many offices are vacant and businesses are downsizing when their lease comes up for renewal; they’re also, according to Tintocalis, more likely to move to a higher-priced location with more amenities. In many ways, it’s more important than ever to ensure businesses are incentivized to stay in, or come to, Burlington.
One of the most ambitious parts of the Economic Development Office’s work, along with town administration and many other groups and individuals, is the long-term visioning of what can be done with the Mall Road area to reduce unused parking lots, make the best use out of development, and meet the needs of both the business and residential community. You can read a little more about that in our Buzz In-Depth report, and you’ll certainly see more information about this in the coming months. It’s vital that the community be aware of this project, which is a 30-to-50-year plan to thoughtfully reimagine this area as a community.
This plan will be making its way in front of Town Meeting soon, but the exact format of the presentation is still not settled; the Buzz will be sure to keep you updated!
Some fun facts about Burlington’s business community:
Number of Businesses: 2,074 | Number of Employees: 57,850
Top Employers: Lahey Hospital | Genesis HR Solutions | Keurig/Dr. Pepper | Oracle | Aetna Health Agency | Avid Technology | Millipore | Nuance Communications | Peace Plus Maintenance
Top Tax Payers: Oracle | Millipore | Burlington Mall | Keurig
