The town of Grafton received a Public Works Economic Development grant from the Massachusetts government last Friday that will increase accessibility to the Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine's new science park. The donation of nearly $1 million will help improve roadways that lead to the science park, which could in turn lead to economic growth on Tufts' Grafton campus.
The grant proposal was jointly prepared by Tufts and the town of Grafton, according to Joe McManus, associate dean of administration and finance for the vet school. Its inception is the product of over two years of work from state and local officials, who hoped that the creation of Tufts Biomedical Science Park would boost the local economy by increasing the job market and providing tax relief to Grafton residents.
"The school is an engine for economic growth in the state, especially in central Massachusetts," McManus said.
Though the grant was presented directly to Grafton and the infrastructure will essentially belong to the town, Tufts will benefit because the roadway will provide access to the vet school's new facility. The science park is being developed to attract companies that need the expertise of the school's faculty. The increased traffic will bring additional funding for the research opportunities that the companies will provide.
The school already receives an annual appropriation from the state so that Massachusetts residents can have access to a veterinary education. Officials hope the science park will provide an additional source of revenue through leases that will support the operating costs of the school.
"The origins of this idea sprang from the realization that, while the veterinary school is not financially well off, it has a wealth of faculty expertise and available land," McManus said. "It was decided that the school would leverage these two assets and use them as a magnet to draw economic development to the region."
The science park will create an estimated 1,650 new jobs, in addition to the 1,300 jobs the vet school already provides, according to the governor's office. The school also conducts $2.5 million of biotech research collaborations with local companies, a number that is also expected to increase.
"We started by developing a collaborative and contract research program with companies in the life science industries of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and animal health," McManus said. "Developing the Tufts Science Park is the next step in this process of generating economic development, research synergy, and a revenue stream for the school."
A federal grant has already enabled the school to build a biotech incubator building, which has attracted many companies who prefer to start up in a supportive environment. Such companies, according to McManus, like to cluster around a university in order to share ideas, research, employees, and suppliers.
Tufts is modeling its park after similar facilities at other universities. "Most of these are built on the idea that companies in knowledge-based industries seek to be near universities, the source of ideas," McManus said. Other such parks in Massachusetts include Massachusetts Biotechnology Park near UMass Medical School in Worcester and University Park at MIT.
