The past and future of the Massachusetts economy are coming together on a 51-acre former industrial site in Worcester.

The GreenTech Park is transforming land just off Interstate 190 formerly owned and occupied by French abrasives maker Saint-Gobain into a thriving home for advanced manufacturing and technology companies.

The Worcester Business Development Corporation, which acquired the site in 2022, held a groundbreaking last month to mark the start of road, utility and other infrastructure work at the park. Those infrastructure upgrades have been made possible by $12.8 million in public funding, according to WBDC.

“These infrastructure improvements are the foundation for everything we envision at GreenTech Park,” Craig Blais, president of WBDC, said in a statement. “This public investment demonstrates the confidence that our federal, state and local partners have in this project and in Worcester’s ability to attract the next generation of advanced manufacturing and technology companies.”

WBDC estimates that in three years, GreenTech Park will be home to companies using innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robotics and 3D printing, to create new products and improve production processes. Development parcels will be able to accommodate buildings between 50,000 square feet and 500,000 square feet with an expedited permitting process.

As part of the redevelopment, the WBDC is overseeing comprehensive site preparation through cleanup efforts, infrastructure upgrades and creating new public roadways, according to the organization’s press release. Plans are also underway to reconnect Ararat Street, New Bond Street and Norton Drive as part of the project.

Development of an advanced manufacturing/technology part squares well with the economic strengths of central Massachusetts. Worcester has been a manufacturing center for hundreds of years and retains a manufacturing workforce of more than 30,000.

WBDC focuses on economic development, redeveloping complex or underutilized properties.

Congratulations to WBDC, the City of Worcester, elected officials and the Worcester Area Chamber of Commerce for – literally – laying the groundwork for a development that will become a locus of jobs and innovation in central Massachusetts. This is the important work of economic development – public and private sectors collaborating to put shovels in the ground, zoning on the books and dreams at the forefront to create opportunity for the citizens of the commonwealth.