The panel featured Nadia Cheng from RightHand Robotics, Zach Baum from Bow Market, Julia Travaglini from Greentown Labs, and Dan Bartman from the City of Somerville as panelists.

By Denise Keniston

On Wednesday, February 13, a panel of local talent and new arrivals to Somerville’s business and entrepreneurial scene joined WBUR’s Senior Innovation Reporter Callum Borchers at Greentown Labs in Union Square for The Future is Now: A Somerville Panel.

Greentown Labs is the largest hardware-focused cleantech incubator in the country located in a renovated factory in Union Square. In seven years, Greentown has gone from having one employee to providing space for more than 450, with a wet lab, in-house machine shop and more. It’s raised more than $350 million in funding.

The discussion quickly turned to Somerville’s growth: what’s gained and what’s lost. One of the startups Greentown Labs nurtured is RightHand Robotics, which graduated from Greentown and took over the 24,000–square-foot Post Office in Union Square. The company is now looking to expand again. “It’s bittersweet because some Somerville spaces are opening up, like automotive spaces, because they’re going out of business. They’re going out of business either because they chose to or because they can’t stay there,” says panelist Nadia Cheng, RightHand Robotics Operations Manager.

New business brings with it the need for affordable housing to attract premium talent. Soaring real estate values have priced out 80% of Somerville’s current households from buying a condo or single-family home, according to a recent Somerville zoning report. As such, cash-strapped Greentown startups struggle with paying new workers accordingly so they can afford to live in Somerville. Panelist Julia Travaglini, Sr. Dir. Marketing for Greentown Labs added, “Our startups are hyper-concerned about how much money they have until they run out. It’s a challenge when new companies want to attract premium talent from out of state or town, and they look at the cost to rent and Somerville’s overall cost of living. It’s a balance.”

Also, Somerville’s traffic problems were a hot topic. Panelists agreed the planned extension of the MBTA’s Green Line T stop to Union Square would play a big part in mitigating Somerville’s increasing congestion issues. “The Green Line T changes everything,” said Dan Bartman Senior Planner for the City of Somerville, “When the Green Line is completed, 85% of Somerville residents will have access to public transit. People who have jobs along the Green Line will be able to transfer out of their cars and onto transit.”

Zach Baum, a partner at Bow Market located in Union Square, agreed with Bartman. Bow relies primarily on foot or biking traffic to its 30 small businesses and retailers. “The Green Line extension provide a burst of biking and foot traffic for us. Currently, we are trying to expand our day traffic to our restaurants and retailers. The Green Line will go a long way in making that happen.”

The Future is Now was sponsored and organized by Somerville Chamber of Commerce, Somerville YIMBY, Union Square Main Streets & Greentown Labs. For information on upcoming events at Greentown visit their website at www.greentownlabs.com.