City Grill

Michael O’Brien

Senior Vice President and Massachusetts Business Unit Leader

Gilbane Building Co.

The May 11 home opener of the Boston Red Sox Triple-A affiliate at the $100-million Polar Park—built by construction manager Gilbane/ Hunt—marked the team’s official relocation from Pawtucket, R.I. O’Brien says the baseball stadium will play a “vital role” in the revitalization of Worcester’s Canal District.

According to O’Brien, there is a need for more public-private partnerships “to provide off balance sheet financing, design, construction and operation of social infrastructure facilities.”

Central Massachusetts also “provides a great alternative” for life science companies that are looking to avoid “increasing rents and high barriers of entry” in locating to Cambridge’s Kendall Square area and Boston’s Seaport, O’Brien says.

The executive adds that “the wealth of long-standing, highly reputable pharmaceutical, health care and higher education institutions are firmly established in the Worcester area, making it an attractive option for growth for life science development.”