Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/565724
189 189 took office, when Newburyport's Chestnut Innovation Center was looking to expand. Gray con- nected them with an Amesbury landlord who owned mill space. "It's an interesting concept," he says of the center. "It's [a hybrid] between an incubator and stand- alone companies." He welcomed them to the city and helped them gain financial support from state agencies. Housing 20 leading-edge technology companies, the center contributes to Amesbury's iden- tity as a green city—the building produces its own electrical power and heat, uses LED lights, and has solar panels. "It's a tremendous addition to our industrial base in town. We look at this as kind of a model of the type of companies we'd love to attract here," says Gray, who views Massachusetts as an entrepreneur- ial state that encourages start-ups, particularly in the technology industry. "Amesbury has the space and now the infrastructure to pro- mote that." Just shy of two years in office, Gray has already made major strides in establishing himself as an eco-conscious politician with a sharp mind for fixing matters. Striv- ing toward a robust local economy, he notes, "The city [is] very pro- development right now. We realize the best way out of our property tax problem is through economic devel- opment—that's the least impactful on the city's citizens." And, thinking green, he adds, "From a pragmatic standpoint, we can make use of plots of land that are otherwise useless, and we will be one of the largest generators of renewable energy in this part of the country. For a little town like us … that's an identity we are really proud of."