Economic Development
Businesses thrive best when their customers and their workers are neighbors.
Our commercial districts are an integral and beloved part of our community. Residents want our business districts to be a vibrant mix of retail, restaurants, offices, services, public art, and cultural destinations.
Walkable, multi-family, mixed-income housing is one of the surest ways to support Brookline businesses, especially in the mixed-use environment of our commercial districts and transit corridors.
- For businesses, the juxtaposition means that workers and customers live within walking distance or a short hop away by bus or Green Line.
- For residents, it means convenient access to jobs, school, services, and fun – the things that attract people to Brookline in the first place.
The lack of a strong commercial tax base forces Brookline to continually raise residential property taxes, requiring regular overrides.
In the past, Brookline has constrained development along its commercial and mixed use corridors.
- Zoning changes in the last decades of the 20th century made 3 to 5 story buildings much more difficult to build.
- Large, unattractive, low tax-paying commercial sites are significantly underdeveloped.
- Brookline’s median commercial tax bills are higher than its peer communities.
- Combined with high rents, Brookline’s underutilized commercial and residential potential makes it very challenging for Brookline businesses to thrive.
Adding mixed-use districts that combine multi-family homes near transportation hubs allows our large and small businesses to flourish, and in turn increases our tax base.
