A Lowell organization and Fitchburg community leader were honored at the Gateway Cities Innovator Awards for their work to improve and redevelop neighborhoods and stimulate entrepreneurship among residents.

The Gateway City Innovative Institute, an organization created by the think tank MassINC, celebrated its first anniversary at a luncheon Tuesday by awarding the Merrimack Valley Sandbox and Marc Dohan, executive director of Twin Cities Community Development Corporation.

Lowell, Lawrence, Fitchburg and Leominster are among 26 Gateway Cities across state, which are cities with populations between 35,000 and 250,000. Read more…

Springfield Republican – O’Connell Companies of Holyoke, Jay Minkarah of DevelopSpringfield, Armando Feliciano of Springfield Redevelopment Authority honored by MassINC, Gateway Cities

MassINC, together with leaders from the 26 Gateway Cities, will celebrate the innovative spirit of Massachusetts’ historic Gateway Cities by honoring five individuals and two organizations that have had a transformative impact on their communities, according to a news release.

Local honorees are the O’Connell Companies of Holyoke; Armando Feliciano, of the Springfield Redevelopment Authority; and Jay Minkarah, of DevelopSpringfield.

Feliciano is a longtime Springfield community leader and chairman of the Springfield Redevelopment Authority. After the 2011 tornado destroyed Feliciano’s home, he strove not only to rebuild his own property, but also to foster a collaborative partnership between the SRA and DevelopSpringfield, a newly formed public-private economic development organization. As the first CEO of DevelopSpringfield, Minkarah has devoted enormous energy to this joint effort. The opportunity their collaboration has produced is embodied in the Rebuild Springfield Plan – an ambitious, forward-thinking blueprint for the city’s future that the SRA and DevelopSpringfield are now working together to implement. (Read more…)

The Standard Times – Gateway Cities bill would expand funding

A bill aimed at creating new benefits for the state’s post-industrial Gateway Cities, including a $125 million fund to stimulate residential construction, has drawn the support of mayors and a half-dozen state legislators even as critics contend that the measure unnecessarily locks smaller communities out of such funds.

The Gateway Cities Innovation Institute, a research center housed within nonprofit organization MassINC that looks to tackle problems faced by post-industrial communities, recently told the state Legislature that the Massachusetts economy as a whole has been “underperforming for some time.”

MassLive – Armando Feliciano, Jay Minkarah honored for Gateway Cities work

MassINC will honor Armando Feliciano, chairman of the Springfield Redevelopment Authority, and Jay Minkarah of DevelopSpringfield as well as The O’Connell Companies for their efforts at revitalizing Massachusetts cities.

Springfield Republican – Priming the pump for Gateway Cities
A bill now working its way through the Massachusetts legislature would put thousands of residents to work right away while overhauling the state’s midsize urban centers to make them stronger regional economic engines over the long term.

The Herald News – As Martha Coakley enters governor’s race does she hope to replicate Warren’s Gateway City success

Her first day on the gubernatorial campaign trail Martha Coakley is busy shaking hands.

According to a Nov. 2012 article in Commonwealth Magazine by Paul McMorrow, Warren scored big in the Gateway Cities to defeat Scott Brown, while Coakley’s margin of victory in the same cities two years earlier was much smaller, helping Brown to victory.

Taunton Gazette – GUEST OPINION: Transformative redevelopment would help Gateway Cities
Primed for transformative projects, Gateway Cities need the right tools.

Worcester Business Journal – ‘Gateway Cities’ Designation Could Be Key To Recovery

Perhaps feeling as if they had always been taking a back seat to the Boston area, officials in communities dubbed Gateway Cities feel they’re making a stronger impact by leveraging common issues and concerns, to effect policy changes that can boost business and housing development within their locales.

“The idea is that they’re very unique places, but the state’s economic policy hasn’t always recognized they’re different from Boston,” said Ben Forman, executive director of the Gateway Cities Institute at MassINC, a Boston-based think tank. 

Eagle Tribune – Regional transportation forum open to public

MassINC and Transportation for Massachusetts will hold a public forum and panel discussion on regional transportation investments in Massachusetts Gateway Cities Tuesday, April 2 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Hartleb Technology Center (Room 103AB) on the Haverhill campus of Northern Essex Community College, 100 Elliott St.

Fall River Herald – At UMD panel, speakers detail need for better bus service in region
Loss of economic opportunity, lack of access to health care facilities and a burden on the work force are just some of the problems with the region’s bus service detailed by speakers at a panel discussion on Thursday during a forum on investing in public transportation for economic growth.

The event was sponsored by the Boston-based think tank MassINC and held at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. MassINC also presented its findings on a study of improving regional transit authorities — including the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority — in Gateway Cities around the state.

Telegram & Gazette – Forum touches on taxes, transit

Increasing public transportation offerings and access is crucial to economies in cities like Worcester, but meeting that demand must be tempered with the need to keep taxes low enough to help businesses grow, members of a forum at Clark University said Monday.

Framed around a recent Mass-INC report on investing in public transportation in Gateway Cities, called “Reinventing Transit,” the forum looked at ways to smartly offer more service to public transportation users, and spotlighted challenges riders face, particularly in lower-income populations.

Sentinel & Enterprise – Warren: Government should act as a partner with Gateway Cities

Government should act as a good partner to finance improvements in education, research and infrastructure that will spur private investment in these and other areas, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Monday.

Brockton Enterprise – Sen. Warren: Gateway Cities have a lot of power, promise
While special interest groups dole out big money for lobbyists to advance their cause, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the results of November’s election showed the state’s Gateway Cities also have power in numbers.

The nonprofit think tank MassInc (Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth) is spearheading the Gateway Cities Innovation Institute, which is committed to helping a group of Gateway City leaders prepare a skilled workforce, improve public safety, advance community health and build the infrastructure for its economy.

Springfield Republican – Senator Elizabeth Warren says investments, like those proposed by Gov. Patrick in conjunction with tax hike, crucial to survival of gateway cities in Massachusetts

During a conversation with the editors of news outlets from the state’s struggling gateway cities, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said that she believes intelligent investments are the only way to ensure their survival and potentially spark their resurgence.

The meeting was organized by Bruce Mohl, the editor of CommonWealth Magazine, and served as the jumping-off point of a larger, still-developing collaboration between the news organizations and interested parties like the non-profit Mass. INC.

The Lowell Sun – Making a case for investing in RTAs

Motorists in Massachusetts spend $5.4 billion on gasoline per year, and only a small fraction it (gas taxes, station employees’ wages) winds up benefiting the local economy.

The findings are part of an interesting study authored by Ben Forman, the research director at MassINC, a nonprofit think tank. Forman’s study, “Reinventing Transit: Investing in Regional Transportation Authorities for Stronger Gateway Economies,” was discussed Wednesday at a public forum in Lowell.

GoLocalWorcester – Report: Better Public Transit Could Boost MA’s Gateway City Economies

MassINC and the Gateway Cities Innovation Institute released a new report showing just how much public transit is affecting growth in Mass. Gateway Cities, like Worcester.

Worcester Telegram & Gazette In Fitchburg, state transit improvements discussed

Last night, Ann T. Berube left a public forum and panel discussion at Fitchburg State University on regional transportation investments in Massachusetts Gateway Cities at Fitchburg State University feeling frustrated.

The forum was attended by state and local officials, business leaders and nonprofit heads. As part of the event, MassINC, an independent research group, presented a report that provides a roadmap for how new public resources in regional transit can be invested with a focus on improving the economic performance of gateway cities like Fitchburg and Leominster.

Sentinel & Enterprise – Officials at Fitchburg State forum: More cash should be in transit

Local and state officials agree that investing in public transportation will lead to economic growth in Gateway Cities. How to fund those improvements is something else altogether.

In a forum hosted by MassINC and Transportation for Massachusetts held at Fitchburg State University on Monday, elected officials and transportation, business and education leaders discussed the chronic underfunding of regional transit authorities, or RTAs, the effect on the region, and how revenue might be raised to increase services provided by the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority, or MART.

Sentinel & Enterprise – MassINC to hold Gateway Cities forum at FSU
MassINC and Transportation for Massachusetts will hold a public forum and panel discussion on regional transportation investments in Gateway Cities at Fitchburg State University from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

Sentinel & Enterprise – MassINC says public transportation fuels economy
According to a MassINC report released last week, public transportation improvements could attract businesses and residents to cities like Fitchburg and Leominster, as well as help to lower the unemployment rates these Gateway Cities face.

WAMC – Think Tank Urges Transportation Investment in Mass. Gateway Cities

A new report by Massachusetts think-tank MassINC shows a significant economic impact from the lack of adequate public transportation available in Gateway Cities.

South Coast Today – Gateway Cities report ties transportation to economic health

A new MassINC report provides a road map for putting transportation funds to better use in once-prosperous industrial cities that have fallen on hard times and need an economic boost.

Fall River Herald – State must reinvest in Fall River transportation
For residents in the Gateway Cities of Fall River and Taunton, it may not come as a surprise, but a report released Tuesday by MassINC says inadequate public transportation in those communities causes service gaps for the employed, doubled commute times, and is a factor in lower-than-average work force participation.

Taunton Daily Gazette – Report State must invest in Taunton transportation

For residents in the Gateway Cities of Fall River and Taunton, it may not come as a surprise, but a report released Tuesday by MassINC says inadequate public transportation in those communities causes service gaps for the employed, doubled commute times, and is a factor in lower-than-average work force participation.

WGBH – Report: Gateway Cities Underserved by MBTA

On Beacon Hill, lawmakers face an ambitious plan by Governor Patrick to overhaul transportation funding in Massachusetts. 

Report author Ben Forman, research director at MassINC and executive director of the Gateway Cities Innovation Institute, joined Morning Edition to discuss the report’s findings.    

Worcester Telegram & Gazette – Report: Public transportation spending benefits Gateway cities

A new report from MassINC says the governor’s proposal to increase transportation spending could be particularly important for Gateway cities such as Worcester, Leominster and Fitchburg.

Commonwealth Magazine – Patrick budget triples funding for RTAs

THE PATRICK ADMINISTRATION’S proposed transportation plan includes a near-tripling of the annual budget for state’s beleaguered Regional Transit Authorities, a $100 million annual increase that officials insist will trigger a hike in employment and economic growth in the Gateway Cities.

Transportation Secretary Richard Davey, citing a MassINC report released Tuesday, said people who live in regions that are not serviced by the MBTA face problems with buses that only operate in peak hours, do not run on Sundays, and only travel in densely populated areas, making it difficult for people without cars to obtain jobs if they can’t walk to them. 

iBerkshires.com – Community Leaders Debate Transportation Future At Forum

A proposed $100 million increase in state funding for the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority may not be such a boon.

Further investment in public transportation in the “Gateway Cities” was identified as a key to the financial future for the entire state by MassInc, an independent research company.

iBerkshires.com – Forum on Public Transportation Set at BCC

A public roundtable discussion on the county’s transportation needs is scheduled Monday evening from 4 to 5:30 at Berkshire Community College.

Panelists will be Mayor Daniel Bianchi, state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier of Pittsield, Berkshire Regional Transit Authority Administrator Gary Shepard, BCC President Ellen Kennedy, Berkshire Chamber of Commerce President Michael Supranowicz and Ben Forman, research director at MassInc and executive director of the Gateway Cities Innovation Institute.