Two area realtors spoke at Tuesday’s Economic Development Advisory Board meeting about Hopkinton’s potential for commercial development, pinpointing South Street as the key target.

Guest speakers Nick Slottje, Charlesbank Realty Group’s president/chief executive officer, and Marilyn Santiago, a senior advisor at Parsons Commercial Group, discussed Hopkinton’s place in the MetroWest real estate market. They agreed that South Street has untapped potential and said the town should tout its status as a platinum community for life science companies.

Chair Jordan Thayer served as the facilitator. He stressed the commitment from the Economic Development Advisory Board (EDAB) to outreach and its goal of incentivizing businesses to locate in Hopkinton and increase the commercial/industrial tax base.

Town has selling points, drawbacks

Santiago has a 15-year background in industrial, office and retail real estate. She shared that Hopkinton’s proximity to Interstate 495 makes it attractive. The town also has a “positive persona in MetroWest” despite being a smaller market.

“People want to be in Hopkinton,” she said. “One of the challenges depending on the product type is the supply.”

Santiago pointed out that downtown space is “very, very limited,” making South Street a logical area for business development.

Slottje added that industrial vacancy rates are extremely low. On the downside, he said some huge industrial buildings on South Street “still sit vacant.”

One positive is that Santiago called the Hopkinton Chamber of Commerce “super robust.”

Smaller “flex space” properties of 12,000 square feet or smaller are in demand now. Slottje stressed that “you could literally put a million different uses in them.”

Office vacancy rates are a hurdle the town needs to overcome, Santiago noted.

Focus turns to South Street

Slottje questioned how to promote either the redevelopment of the six main vacant South Street commercial properties or get businesses to “use them as is.”

Added Santiago: “That’s not a big challenge at the end of the day.”

Zoning is amenable to businesses, added Slottje, but the town does not “entice” businesses to locate here. He noted that Moderna originally scoped out a South Street building for its headquarters. The town’s platinum status for life science companies should be pushed to attract similar companies, he said.

Stressed Slottje: “We’re sitting on a golden goose with South Street.”

Water and electrical redundancy in those buildings make them valuable to investors, he added. Elmwood Park also would be a good business location.

Bose Professional opened its headquarters at 117 South Street last May. The problem is that most residents aren’t aware of it, Slottje said.

Another detractor that keeps businesses away from Hopkinton is the “red tape,” Slottje added. Site plan reviews are required by the Planning Board for businesses with properties an acre or larger. Conservation Commission appearances and peer review consultant reviews tend to deter interested parties from a somewhat arduous and costly approval process.

“We’re in much better shape if the town has this kind of personal [feeling] that we are pulling instead of pushing,” he stressed.

Smaller businesses tend to locate in Ashland, Santiago said. That town has rental subsidies for small businesses of up to $20,000. This could be a strategy Hopkinton could employ, along with other economic incentives.

Economic development director stressed

Both realtors noted that a full-time town economic development director would help market Hopkinton. Julia Chun serves as the town’s sustainability, economic development and equity project manager. While attendees praised Chun’s efforts, they acknowledged that her split duties make business recruitment efforts challenging.

Thayer stressed that this position would be funded by the 0.75% town meals tax, not taxpayer dollars. This meals tax was approved at the November 2024 Special Town Meeting. As of October 2025, the meals tax had generated $200,000, Chun said at an October EDAB meeting.

Slottje noted that Hopkinton is “a decade behind” surrounding communities in implementing a local meals tax.

The committee will discuss proposing an Annual Town Meeting article calling for a full-time economic development director at its meeting on Jan. 20.

MAPC planner presents survey results

Camille Jonlin, the senior economic develop planner for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), visited Hopkinton before the meeting. Earlier in the day, she attended the Hopkinton Chamber of Commerce meeting and toured Main Street businesses.

Jonlin presented the results of a public survey taken in July to EDAB members. It sought resident and business feedback to use in crafting Hopkinton’s economic development plan. About 400 people responded, which Jonlin said was “quite good” given Hopkinton’s population. Only eight businesses participated, she added.

The most attractive factor respondents mentioned was the school system. Other benefits were the town’s environmental assets, the proximity of the highway and safety.

The survey showed that young people, particularly millennials, want the lack of public transportation and nightlife activities to be addressed. Traffic was the top general write-in complaint, according to Jonlin.

Survey participants desired more downtown restaurants with a variety of cuisines as a top priority, as well as new businesses.

Added Jonlin: “Those were far and away the most popular responses of what needs the most improvement.”

Effective town governance, walkability and parking were designated as other top town needs, she said. Main Street development was viewed as a key objective. South Street also was viewed as “important in some way,” Jonlin said.

Kelly Grill, the executive director of the Hopkinton Center of the Arts (HCA), said she was interested in learning what survey respondents meant by “amenities” and “gathering spaces.” The HCA is the private partner in the Center School reuse project, along with the town. One aspect of the plan is creating community meeting space.

She added that she wanted to “have the data behind us to say, ‘If we build it, they will come.’ ”

Jonlin said something she found “really unique to Hopkinton” is the goal of “developing more outdoor or athletic facilities and amenities.”

She also pointed out that respondents age 24 and younger called affordable housing an important goal.

“We had a lot of responses saying we want another grocery store, especially on East Main Street,” Jonlin added.

More sidewalks and community gathering spaces were the top write-in comments indicated in the survey. Making Hopkinton a more welcoming community and having more downtown restaurants with seating were other priorities cited.

“We love our town and our schools” was another frequent write-in comment, according to the survey.

The next step, Jonlin said, is continued outreach to businesses and nonprofits to gather their opinions.

“We’re really trying to analyze everything we’re hearing in aggregate,” she said. “And then we’re going to start making recommendations.”

Jonlin added that the recommendations will be presented later this year to the MAPC steering committee, the Hopkinton Chamber of Commerce, the EDAB and “other town stakeholders.”