Commercial Real Estate Markets in Central Massachusetts

Spencer sits 20 minutes west of Worcester on Route 9, and it's the retail and service hub for the southern end of Worcester County. The town holds down the Route 9 corridor between Worcester and the Connecticut border, and it pulls in shoppers from Brookfield, East Brookfield, and North Brookfield.

Southbridge is the 116th largest community in Massachusetts, down in southern Worcester County along Route 131. It's a regional employment center, and the jobs are in healthcare, manufacturing, and retail.

Leicester sits in Worcester County right on Route 9, about 5 miles west of Worcester. It takes in the villages of Cherry Valley, Rochdale, and Greenville, and you get a mix of residential neighborhoods and commercial corridors that feed the greater Worcester area.

Worcester is the second-largest city in New England, with a population over 205,000. It sits where I-90, I-290, and I-190 meet, and it's the economic hub of Central Massachusetts. The economy here runs across healthcare, education, manufacturing, and professional services, so no single sector carries the whole town.

Webster sits in southern Worcester County, right on Webster Lake, which locals still call by its full name, Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg. The town has a deep Polish-American heritage and it's the retail hub for this corner of the county, pulling shoppers from both the Massachusetts and Connecticut sides of the line.

Oxford sits in southern Worcester County, right along Route 12 and I-395. You get residential neighborhoods and commercial corridors both, tax rates that stay competitive, and easy access to the highway.

Auburn sits right below Worcester in Worcester County, where several major highways come together. You've got residential neighborhoods on one side and a lot of industrial and commercial space on the other, which is why it's turned into a logistics and distribution hub.

Burrillville is a rural town in northwestern Rhode Island, right up against the Massachusetts and Connecticut lines. Land and labor run cheaper here than most places, and you're still within reach of both the Providence and Worcester markets, which is why I keep seeing industrial and distribution users look at it.