TWO QUASI-PUBLIC government agencies, both of which have boasted of their roles in helping with job creation, would be merged together under a proposal tucked into a economic development package that state senators plan to vote on this week.
Senators are expected to vote Thursday on the $2.4 billion borrowing bill, which also includes $350 million in tax credits, a provision helping the prospects of a soccer stadium on the Mystic River waterfront in Everett, and the reauthorization of a long-running initiative boosting the state’s life sciences industry.
The package proposes rolling the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corp. (MGCC) into the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, also known as MassDevelopment. The single organization would carry the MassDevelopment name, according to the bill.
Barry Finegold, the Senate chair of the Legislature’s Economic Development Committee, said the proposal is the result of conversations with Gov. Maura Healey and her economic development chief, Yvonne Hao, who chairs both boards.
The move would create a more powerful and effective organization, Finegold said.
The two quasi-public agencies are themselves the respective results of mergers. MassDevelopment, focused on helping businesses, nonprofits, and communities looking for financing or real estate technical assistance, was created in 1998 from the merger of the Massachusetts Industrial Finance Agency and the Massachusetts Government Land Bank. MGCC formed under a 2010 law that merged the Massachusetts Community Development Finance Corporation and the Economic Stabilization Trust Fund.
On its website, MassDevelopment said it financed or managed hundreds of projects in fiscal year 2023, running the gamut from the preservation of affordable housing to a beer hall in Medford. The projects supported or created thousands of jobs, according to the agency. One of its best-known projects is its oversight of Fort Devens, the former military base that’s been turned into a mixed-use community.
Separately, MGCC is focused on small businesses, offering capital, loan guarantees, grants and technical assistance. During the pandemic, the agency handled a business relief program that sent $687.2 million in cash grants to more than 15,000 Massachusetts businesses. The final round of Covid relief grants was released in May 2021.
Both MassDevelopment, based in Boston’s Financial District with regional offices across the state, and MGCC, headquartered in the city’s Charlestown neighborhood, are currently without permanent leaders. Dan Rivera, the former Lawrence mayor, left last month, with Dan O’Connell, who served as Gov. Deval Patrick’s economic development chief, tapped as the agency’s interim leader. MGCC’s Larry Andrews also recently stepped down, and Esther Schlorholtz, who spent more than 20 years at Boston Private Bank and Trust Company before retiring in 2021, has stepped in as interim CEO.
The economic development package is one of several bills that Healey has pointed to as a key piece of legislation to get across the finish line before lawmakers end formal sessions for the year on July 31. The multibillion dollar housing bill is the administration’s top priority.
House lawmakers passed their version of the economic development bill in June. It carries $3.4 billion in bond authorizations and $700 million in tax credits.
“The Healey-Driscoll Administration remains encouraged by the active dialogue and partnership with the Legislature around the Mass Leads Act,” a Healey spokesperson said in an email, referring to the name the governor is using for her version of the bill. “We intend to continue to work closely with the House and Senate over the next several weeks as the legislative process unfolds.”
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