'Marlborough: A City With Potential'

Submitted by Elizabeth Dougherty, a science writer and novelist living in Marlborough:

About a year ago, I attended a meeting where interested townspeople shared their visions for a future Marlborough. I think it’s fair to say that the prevailing dreamscape cast Marlborough as a city, complete with bustling sidewalks, downtown apartments, and a Main Street filled with places to be and people to see.

New zoning rules were step one to making that vision – or some similar, successful, vision for a thriving Marlborough – a reality.

Step two, it seems, is underway. Certainly Marlborough is making investments. A newly renovated Ward Park was busy on a recent Sunday afternoon in February despite chilly temps. And other projects are in the works to improve roads, intersections, and school grounds, and to evaluate downtown development projects. Other signs of progress include an influx of innovative high-tech and biotech businesses and an uptick in activity at downtown restaurants.

But is there a crystal ball that might tell us if Marlborough will live up to its potential? Maybe. James Fallows recently published a checklist in The Atlantic Monthly – Eleven Signs a City Will Succeed – based on his observations over three years of towns across the US.

How does Marlborough stack up? Let’s see:

• Divisive national politics seem a distant concern. Check. In my experience, people around town are more interested in talking about local concerns – a home renovation project, an event they attended, a neighbor’s health – than about presidential politics. In Marlborough, town trumps Trump.
• You can pick out the local patriots. Sorry. I can’t. I can name the Mayor, but I’ve never seen him around town. Maybe there are others, perhaps a champion of the arts or a protector of open spaces. If so, show yourselves. We all need to know more about you and your ideas.
• Public-Private Partnerships are real. Check. The Marlborough Economic Development Corporation is a hub for government incentives for commercial development. And the MetroWest area is a target for investment for other government-sponsored projects, such as the Massachusetts Life Science Center. Even something as simple as the Peter-Pan bus to Boston shows that Marlborough’s public-private partnerships are real.
• People know the civic story. Check. Fry Boots. Rockport. Apple orchards. George Washington was here. People know this city’s roots. They also know who they are. People here are friendly. They wave hello on the Rail Trail. Kids play in the street and neighbors watch out for one another. It’s a nice place and people want it to stay that way.
• They have a downtown. Check. Though the number of vacant and uninviting storefronts could put this fact at risk of being a detriment. Good thing for #10.
• They are near a research university. Check. Definitely. Even though the nearest research university is miles away, Marlborough’s proximity to Boston, Cambridge and Worcester and the many academic institutions in those cities has got to be an asset. They are for me. Local universities and research centers are my clients, and I wouldn’t live here if not for them.
• They have and care about a community college. Sorry. But a close call. Mass Bay Community College has locations in Framingham and Ashland, but wouldn’t Marlborough be a great place for another?
• They have unusual schools. Check. The Advanced Math and Science Academy (AMSA) charter school is a gem for the academically inclined, but also, Marlborough has the Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School for those with more practical aspirations. Both matter, and both count as unusual. Not to mention that at Assabet After Dark, you can learn to dance or speak Spanish or bake bread.
• They make themselves open. Check. Marlborough is diverse, with people coming to live here from all over the world, bringing different languages, foods and customs. Attracting new people is a good thing, says Fallows. I agree. One place where Marlborough falls down: Where are the young people? We need this place to be attractive to them, too. See #11.
• They have big plans. Check. Marlborough has plans to rejuvenate the downtown, to attract new businesses, to revitalize crumbling neighborhoods and invest in school grounds. Let’s hope those plans turn to actions. Fallows says: “Downtown ambitions of any sort are a positive sign, and second- and third-floor apartments and condos over restaurants and stores with lights on at night suggest that the downtown has crossed a decisive threshold and will survive.”
• They have craft breweries. Sorry. You have to go to Hudson for that. Or Framingham. But the fact that there are craft breweries nearby doesn’t mean that Marlborough doesn’t need one of it’s own. And heck, why not a craft distillery, while we’re at it? Just take a peek downtown. There’s plenty of room.

Even without a craft brewery or community college of our own, I’m bullish on Marlborough. How about you? Share in the comments section below.