Page 6 - BusinessWest December 7, 2020

Selling the Region
The Pandemic Helps Western Mass. Makes Its Case
RBy George O’Brien
ick Sullivan was talking about the pan- demic ... and about how it just might present some opportunities for this region to prompt companies currently located in expensive office buildings in pricey urban centers to at least look this
way.
And he paused to reference an article he had just read
that morning about how those in the Aloha State were thinking pretty much the same thing.
“Hawaii seeks to be seen as a remote workplace with a view,” he said, referencing the headline he had just read. “They’re making the same pitch we are — it’s a great place to work remotely ... with a view. It’s the same concept — we have great outdoor recreational opportunities, we have the mountains, the skiing, the rafting, and the biking.”
Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Massachu- setts Economic Development Council, quickly acknowl- edged that Western Mass. is not Hawaii. But to one degree or another, it can, as he noted, offer at least some of the
“Part of our strategic plan is to increase the marketing for such efforts and make that pitch. We’re going to work through what that looks like, but we are certainly not equipped to do a multi-million-dollar marketing campaign. I do think we can raise our profile and make that pitch.
same things — like those nice views. And a sticker price — for commercial real estate and many other things — far, far below not only Boston, Cambridge, and New York, but many other regions of the country as well.
There is a certain quality of life that has always been here but has taken on perhaps greater importance in the midst of a pandemic as people — and some businesses as
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6 DECEMBER 7, 2020 FEATURE BusinessWest
Photo courtesy of Springfield Development