Westwood Station could ignite office space demand south of Boston - Daily News Transcript

The article below from the Daily Transcript briefly touches on a potential benefit of Westwood Station that I have not seen discussed significantly before. When I first heard of the development, one of my thoughts was that maybe the kind of company I work for would locate there. There are tech companies in Westwood, such as gaming company Turbine,but generally speaking, Westwood is not a technology center.

Companies that depend on "knowledge workers" locate where the talent is and right now, that remains in the core of Boston. When I was a student at MIT, I didn't even know towns like Westwood, Needham, or Dedham existed. Had I gone to interview at a company there, I would have had to figure out how to get there on public transit, then, I would have looked around and said, hmm, how is this place any different from any other random suburb in America? I had a limited perspective and the last thing I wanted to do as a twenty-something was end up living out in the suburbs. I'd probably have stayed in the city, commuted, and eventually moved to another region of the country.

If Westwood Station can create the kind of mixed-used, transit-linked community described in their promotional materials--and avoid the mistakes of towns like Burlington, Waltham, and Natick as they built out huge office/retail parks over the top of their communities, then I think Westwood could become the kind of town college graduates would find cool to live, work, and stay in. I don't think that is the primary purpose of the project by any means, but I think it's an aspect that would help the town grow in a creative, young direction.