With thousands of new housing units planned or under construction in Worcester but demand continuing to outpace supply across Massachusetts, business, government and development leaders gather Friday for a daylong conference focused on one of the state’s most persistent economic challenges.
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll delivers the afternoon keynote at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce’s annual Game Changers Business Conference & Expo, which this year will center on housing production, affordability and availability.
The conference, titled “Building the Future of Housing,” runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, at Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St.
The chamber is framing housing not simply as a social or development issue, but as an increasingly significant obstacle to workforce growth and economic competitiveness in Central Massachusetts.
Worcester has added more than 3,000 housing units over the past decade. More than 1,600 additional units are under construction and another 3,000 are in the development pipeline. Those projects come amid a much larger statewide housing shortage. Massachusetts estimates that 220,000 new homes will be needed by 2035.
Driscoll’s keynote is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. and is expected to focus on the state’s efforts to address that shortage.
Housing has been a major policy priority of the Healey-Driscoll administration, including the $5.1 billion Affordable Homes Act and development of the state’s first comprehensive housing plan.
The Worcester conference examines how state and local governments, developers, financial institutions and other private-sector partners can increase housing production and overcome some of the barriers confronting new development.
Three panel discussions focus on public-private partnerships, next steps for housing policy and the use of tax credits, incentives and private capital to finance housing.
David Greaney, founder and CEO of Synergy, delivers the morning keynote at 9:25 a.m. A discussion of public-private partnerships follows at 10:05 a.m., with a housing policy discussion scheduled for 10:50 a.m. Clearly, this is a conference that intends to stay on schedule.
A noon session examines financing, tax credits and other incentives available for housing development before Driscoll closes out the conference program with her keynote.
The event will also include an exhibitor fair and presentation of the Chamber’s annual Game Changers awards, beginning at 9 a.m.
The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Game Changers conference annually focuses on issues and projects expected to have a significant effect on the region’s economy. This year’s focus comes as housing costs and limited availability increasingly intersect with employers’ ability to attract and retain workers and communities’ efforts to accommodate growth.
