Northeast Region
Economic Development in the Northeast Region of Massachusetts
Northeast Massachusetts is an economic development powerhouse with a focus on technology and advanced manufacturing. This region of Massachusetts stretches from the Atlantic Coast through the Merrimack Valley to Route 128, the inner beltway of Greater Boston. Haverhill, Lowell, and Lawrence are just a few of the bustling cities of Northeast Massachusetts. At the same time, this area boasts coastal towns like Gloucester and Rockport which are popular with visitors and residents alike. The Northeast region is also a hotspot for businesses, home to several leading Fortune 500 companies and an incubator for leaders in growing technologies. Companies in software, information, robotics, aerospace, the life sciences, and the Blue Economy have all grown their businesses in Northeast Massachusetts.
Colliers and CBRE
U.S. Census
https://www.bls.gov/lpc/state-productivity.htm#Q03
AdvisorSmith COL Index 2020
AdvisorSmith COL Index 2020
Honoring Companies Choosing to Locate and Expand in Northeast Massachusetts
Leaders in Northeast Massachusetts
Leading Industries by Location Quotient
with at least 1,000+ employees
(Site selectors and corporate real estate experts are familiar with location quotients and often use them to determine the viability of a region for a prospect employer. Location quotients provided here measure the concentration of employees in an industry in this region versus the United States as a whole. A location quotient of 2.0, for example, means that the industry has twice the employment than the national average, suggesting competitive advantage for the region in that industry.)
NAICS 5417 Scientific research and development | 1550 | 12.67 |
NAICS 3364 Aerospace product and parts mfg. | 8 | 7.37 |
NAICS 5112 Software publishers | 646 | 6.36 |
NAICS 3341 Computer and peripheral equipment mfg. (1550 entities) | 21 | 5.74 |
NAICS 3345 Electronic instrument manufacturing | 239 | 5.43 |
NAICS 6113 Colleges and universities | 11 | 4.29 |
NAICS 3332 Industrial machinery manufacturing | 40 | 4.88 |
NAICS 3118 Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing | 64 | 3.56 |
NAICS 3391 Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing | 31 | 3.03 |
NAICS 5415 Computer systems design and related services | 2507 | 2.87 |
NAICS 5191 Other information services | 294 | 2.67 |
NAICS 3119 Other food manufacturing | 17 | 2.65 |
NAICS 3344 Semiconductor and electronic component mfg. | 131 | 2.61 |
NAICS 3327 Machine shops and threaded product mfg. | 108 | 2.6 |
Export Industry Employees
within 45 mile radius of region's center point. Source: GIS Planner, 2021
Leading Export Employers by Job Listings
Last 6 months (Apr. 1, 2021 - Sep. 30, 2021). Source: Labor Insight, 2021
Economic Development Projects in the Northeast Region
Manufacturing innovation institute, Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), a non-profit public-private partnership that supports collaborations with medical device companies and employs 26 people on-site, moved its headquarters from Cambridge to 20K SF in Bedford.
Lithium-ion battery manufacturer A123 Systems acquired a 115K SF converted lab property in Burlington, Massachusetts for close to $20 million.
In a deal brokered by Hunneman, product development firm Goddard Technologies is relocating its HQ from Beverly to Wilmington, doubling to 42,060 SF.
Newmark arranged a 47,500 SF lease for Fourth Power, an energy sustainability and grid resilience company, at 44 Middlesex, a newly delivered 147K SF advanced manufacturing campus in Bedford, Massachusetts.
Cabot, Cabot & Forbes broke ground on “The Bolt,” a 180K SF innovation, manufacturing, and research hub that will anchor the growing New Boston Corridor in Woburn.
Medical technology innovator Pramand (represented by CBRE in the lease negotiations) is relocating and expanding its corporate HQ to 41,411 SF at Blue Sky Center, a premier office and R&D campus in Burlington.
Radiopharmaceutical-focused company Lantheus recently expanded within Bedford.
Minerva Biotechnologies is moving from Waltham to a newly renovated, 13K SF lab-and-office suite at Cummings Park in Woburn.
Nanoramic, which is revolutionizing the way Li-ion batteries are produced to bring sustainable lower-cost, higher-performance batteries to its customers, opened a 40K SF HQ in Woburn where its facility includes next-generation labs & manufacturing capabilities.
The facility is one of the first fully electric industrial buildings in Massachusetts.
Locus Robotics, a maker of autonomous mobile robots for warehouse fulfillment, recently celebrated the opening of its 157K SF HQ in Wilmington
AMB, a pioneer in the field of lithium-ion dry-electrode technologies, has established a new Customer Success Center, a ground-breaking initiative aimed at providing unparalleled support and value to its customers. The state-of-the-art facility is designed to help customers test and qualify their materials on AM Batteries' dry-electrode manufacturing process in a dry-room manufacturing environment, ensuring optimal electrode and battery performance.
Commlink Integration, a technology solutions company that offers AV integration, network design, security solutions, structured cabling, smart buildings, sound masking, or any combination of the above, secured a new 5,034 SF flex lease in Burlington.
Instrumentation company SciAps, Inc. relocated from Woburn to expand its operations to a 30,808 SF high-tech office and manufacturing space in Andover.
Axcelis Technologies, an American company engaging in the design, manufacturing, and servicing of capital equipment for the semiconductor manufacturing industry worldwide, leased 98,500 SF in Andover.
an organ editing metabolic therapeutics company pioneering a new approach to the treatment of type 2 diabetes, will re-locate its operations from Lexington to Burlington, with an anticipated occupancy of Q4 2023.
Boston Materials in Billerica plans to triple its current workforce of 30 in the next couple of years, as the venture-backed advanced manufacturing company needs to add more production lines to meet demand.
Factorial Energy, an industry leader in the development of solid-state battery technology for electric vehicle applications, will establish a new advanced manufacturing facility in Methuen. The existing 67K SF building on the site will undergo extensive buildout to house Factorial’s pilot production facility which will manufacture automotive-sized solid-state batteries at pre-production speed and volume. Factorial will invest $45 million in the facility, which is expected to begin operations in early 2023 and add 166 new jobs.
Biotechnology company Enanta signed a new lease to take lab-and-office space at a future building at Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc.’s Arsenal on the Charles campus in Watertown.
Entegris, an American provider of products and systems that purify, protect, and transport critical materials used in the semiconductor device fabrication process, opened a new Life Sciences Technology Center in Billerica.
6K announced a new 33K SF battery center of excellence pre-production facility in North Andover, which will be one of the largest battery material production facilities in the country.
Analog Devices, Inc., (Wilmington) Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Norwood, MA, ADI is a leading global manufacturer of a broad portfolio of products leveraging analog, mixed signal and digital signal processing technology. They are consolidating some of their MA-based operations into one campus. They will construct a 440,000 square-foot building for office space, lab space, a community hub and parking. The company plans to hire 50 new employees, retain 1,555 employees, and make a private investment of $142.9 million. The Town of Wilmington has approved an eight-year Tax Financing Agreement with a value of approximately $4.3 million.
Explore Massachusetts' Other Regions
At MassEcon, Location is Everything!
To start your customized site search in Northeast Massachusetts, start here and contact Doug Kehlhem, Senior Director, MassEcon, Dkehlhem@massecon.com, 617-9244-600, x112. Or, submit an on-line search request here
