Kasner asks committee to back commission to inventory built environment, ease reuse for next‑economy uses

BOSTON — Representative Kristen Kasner told the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies on June 5 that H490, "An Act Preparing Massachusetts for the Next Economy," would create a special commission to inventory the Commonwealth’s built environment, diagnose barriers in permitting and local land‑use regulation, and recommend steps to repurpose vacant commercial space for emerging sectors.

Kasner said the commission would bring together businesses, educational institutions, infrastructure partners and government to identify practical regulatory changes and infrastructure needs — for example, water, electric capacity or permitting timelines — that would allow offices and other vacant space to be repurposed for life sciences, green technology, housing or advanced manufacturing. “We must look at traditional spaces and think of how they can be repurposed for that next economy,” Kasner told committee members.

She cited a recent report from the Boston Policy Institute and the Center for State Policy Analysis saying Boston office values could fall 35 to 45 percent from 2024 levels, and argued that keeping buildings occupied through reuse is necessary to retain value and stabilize local economies. Representatives asked about commission composition and data sources; Kasner said she welcomed broad stakeholder representation and pointed committee members to state resources such as the Massachusetts Data Hub and Massachusetts GIS as starting points for an inventory.

No committee vote on H490 took place during the hearing.