In this issue...

• Now Open: 495/MetroWest Employer Survey

• Register for Our Annual State House House Day

• Housing Committee Meeting March 31st: Workforce and Housing

• MassHire Metro Southwest Trade and Construction Expo
  
• Transportation Committee Meeting May 27th

• Clean Energy Siting and Permitting Regulations Taking Effect July 1st

• Boston MPO Freight Action Plan Engagement Survey

• FY27 ECO One Stop Application Deadline Extended

The 495/MetroWest Partnership invites business and organizational leaders from across our region to take part in our annual 495/MetroWest Employer Survey!

This survey represents a collaborative effort between the 495/MetroWest Partnership and Framingham State University's MetroWest Economic Research Center (MERC). This survey has proven an important tool in gauging business confidence in the 495/MetroWest region.

Now being conducted for the 13th year running, the survey is an opportunity for our region’s employers to communicate concerns and challenges, which can guide policymakers in considering needed changes and investments. The survey is also an important tool in forecasting future growth by regional employers, and in identifying warning signs of challenges to come.

Your participation is greatly appreciated, and is leveraged to promote the region and to ensure its continued prosperity.

Key survey details:

• Who should take the survey? Owners, leaders, or individuals with regional hiring authority for private/ nongovernmental organizations that have a presence in the 495/MetroWest region.

• This survey should only take about 5-7 minutes to complete.

• Your individual responses are anonymous; your answers will be aggregated and reported with all responses.

Thank you for your assistance in continuing this important economic assessment tool for our region. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Executive Director Jason Palitsch via email at jason@495partnership.org.

Registration Now Open for

Annual State House House Day 2026

The 495/MetroWest Partnership cordially invites you to attend our annual State House Day event on Tuesday, April 28th, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM featuring keynote speaker Senate President Karen Spilka! This event is an annual opportunity created by the Partnership for our stakeholders to interact with members of our region’s legislative delegation, hear about their priorities, and ask questions or offer feedback relevant to your business, organization, or community. This event is free to attend, though advance registration is required; click here to register. Additional details including access and parking information will be provided to registrants during the week of April 20th.

Housing Committee March 31st: Workforce and Housing

The Housing Committee of the 495/MetroWest Partnership will meet virtually on Tuesday, March 31st at 8:30 AM for a discussion focused on how workforce constraints impact housing creation. As Massachusetts pursues an ambitious goal of new housing units, workforce availability has emerged as a significant constraint on housing growth. While laborers are often the most visible participants in the housing construction workforce, the broader housing ecosystem includes a wide range of skilled trades, professional services, and supplier industries that are essential to project delivery. This Housing Committee session will examine how workforce shortages — including an aging construction workforce, limited exposure to career pathways, and licensure or training barriers — may slow housing production, and what regional partners are doing to strengthen the talent pipeline. This will be a virtual event hosted via Zoom; click here to register. 

MassHire Metro South/West Trade and Construction Expo

MassHire Metro South/West is hosting their Trade & Construction Expo on April 2nd from 8 AM to 2 PM at the Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlborough. Employers in the trade and construction industry can register to be a vendor and showcase their business to over 500 high school students from the Metro South/West region. Participation is free for vendors. Click here to register.

Transportation Committee May 27th

The Transportation Committee of the 495/MetroWest Partnership will meet on Wednesday, May 27th at 8:30 AM for a discussion on how the 495/MetroWest Partnership engages with regional MPO planning processes as part of its advocacy efforts. Partnership staff will provide an overview of their draft comment letters on the Boston MPO's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and note the regionally significant projects they will be offering comment on. Attendees will be able to offer comments of their own and play a role in shaping the letters. This will be an in-person event at the Partnership's office in Westborough; click here to register.

Clean Energy Siting and Permitting Regulations

Taking Effect July 1st

In Accordance with the 2024 Climate Act, An Act Promoting a Clean Energy Grid, Advancing Equity, and Protecting Ratepayers, Massachusetts is updating the local siting and permitting processes for clean energy infrastructure. The regulations take effect on July 1st and communities must open the new permitting processes by October 1st.

The updates to the siting and permitting processes are based on the findings of Governor Healey’s Commission on Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting, which identified the existing permitting process as a key barrier to the development of clean energy, meeting future electricity demand, and accomplishing climate goals. Under the new regulations, municipalities must offer a new streamlined permitting process featuring a consolidated application, project applicants are required to more thoroughly engage with stakeholders prior to submitting an application, and projects are subject to an updated standardized environmental assessment with a new interactive mapping and scoring tool. Click here for more information.

Boston MPO Freight Action Plan Engagement Survey

The Boston MPO is developing a Freight Action Program, which seeks to improve freight transportation by identifying regional freight needs, priorities, challenges, and opportunities that will inform future planning efforts. As part of the process, the Boston MPO is inviting business stakeholders to participate in a short survey that will help the MPO better understand local freight-related priorities and draft actionable recommendations in the Freight Action Plan. The survey takes about 5 minutes to complete and responses will remain anonymous unless participants choose to share contact information. Click here to take the survey. Questions can be directed to Shravanthi Gopalan Narayanan at sgnarayanan@ctps.org.

FY27 ECO One Stop Application Deadline Extended


The deadline for submitting an FY27 ECO One Stop program application has been extended to Friday, March 27th at 12:00 PM. Applicants are encouraged to submit their applications as early as possible. The deadline extension applies to all programs in the ECO One Stop portal:

• Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant
• CZM Coastal Resilience
• CZM Coastal Habitat and Water Quality
• EEA Cooling Cooridors
• EEA Planning Assistance
• EEA Dam and Seawall Repair or Removal
• DER Culvert Replacement Municipal Assistance and Training

For more information, email EcoOneStop@mass.gov.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if the 495/MetroWest Partnership can be of any assistance to you:

Jason Palitsch, Executive Director

(774) 760-0495

Jason@495Partnership.org

Thank you for your continued commitment to strengthening our region.