First Client In Works At ‘The Reactory’ Biomanufacturing On Former Worcester State Hospital Site

The Reactory is a 46-acre master-planned biomanufacturing park with 8 pad-ready parcels and up to 530K square feet of development potential.

The Real Reporter – October 2019

Worcester’s first master-planned biomanufacturing park has been named The Reactory by the Worcester Business Development Corporation (WBDC), the nonprofit organization developing the former Worcester State Hospital property.

The 46-acre site, purchased by the WBDC from the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, provides opportunity for up to 530,000 square feet of development with eight shovel-ready pads.

Massachusetts recently surpassed California as the top biotech cluster in the world, due to the best universities, hospitals and research and development companies, as well as the brightest minds in the industry. All of these attributes can be found in Worcester with nine colleges and universities and 35,000 students, three world-class hospitals, and more than 60 biotech companies.

“Worcester has a thriving biotech and life sciences infrastructure,” said Craig L. Blais, President and CEO of the WBDC. “The Reactory brand name speaks to the overall vision of growing this innovative ecosystem and positioning Worcester to become a leader in biomanufacturing.”

In early 2016, the Baker-Polito administration announced the formation of a taskforce to pursue the establishment of a biomanufacturing campus in Worcester. “When our administration launched the Open for Business initiative, we envisioned transforming projects like this into new spaces, and we are pleased to see the progress here and look forward to the biomanufacturing park’s future impact on the area,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito.

Today, The Reactory is marketing itself as a new, state-of-the-art biomanufacturing park that can meet the growing demand for genetically personalized medicine and the development of rare-disease treatments. This personalized brand of care requires smaller and more flexible processes.

The WBDC is in negotiations to secure the first tenant within The Reactory campus, WuXi Biologics, a Chinese contract development manufacturing organization. WuXi’s proposed $60 million facility would employ more than 150 people. In addition to WuXi’s interest, the WBDC is continuing its outreach efforts to identify and attract more biomanufacturing companies.