Hingham unveils economic development strategy targeting tourism, housing, and specialized industry
Three-phase plan identifies development opportunities in downtown, shipyard, and South Hingham areas while emphasizing business retention and regional partnerships.
HINGHAM - June 10 - The Hingham Select Board, Planning Board, and Development and Industrial Commission received a comprehensive economic development strategy presentation June 10, outlining a roadmap for future growth and revenue generation across three key districts in town.
Consultants Alex Tranmer and Tom Dworetsky from Camoin Associates presented the year-long study, which identifies specific development opportunities and recommends a three-phase implementation approach over the next five years. The strategy emerges from recommendations by the town's Sustainable Budget Task Force, which found that economic development offers high potential for new revenue impact over the long term.
"Economic development offers over the long term high potential new revenue impact," said Assistant Town Administrator Art Robert, noting that the task force found expenses in Hingham are growing faster than revenue. "This was very important in context of their finding that over the long term, expenses in Hingham are growing faster than revenue."
The study focuses on three geographic areas: downtown Hingham, the shipyard district, and South Hingham extending into North Rockland. The town of Rockland contributed financially to the project due to shared interests in the Route 3 and Route 228 corridor.
The consultants identified several competitive factors affecting Hingham's economic development potential. While the town benefits from proximity to Boston and access via ferry and commuter rail, it faces challenges compared to other suburban markets.
"Proximity is not necessarily the same as participation," Dworetsky explained. "There are certainly more high growth submarkets within the Boston region that have seen higher job growth in competitive industries, more investment places like Burlington, Andover, Quincy, Framingham, Waltham."
The South Shore, including Hingham, has not experienced the same intensity of growth in technology and life sciences industries, partly due to Route 3's limited regional interconnectivity compared to other highway corridors.
However, the analysis identified several development types with strong market potential: senior housing, market-rate housing, chain hotels, specialized industrial uses, medical office space, and trophy office buildings.
The strategy outlines three phases of recommendations, beginning with near-term opportunities requiring relatively low resources but offering high impact potential.
Phase one focuses on leveraging regional partnerships, improving business communication and branding, highlighting historic assets, and making physical environment improvements. "Economic development is a team sport," Tranmer emphasized. "It really cannot be done alone."
Phase two, planned for years two and three, involves using data strategically to capture investment potential, including developing marketing materials and conducting potential land use changes, particularly in South Hingham.
Phase three represents longer-term endeavors requiring additional resources and investment, including a formal business retention and expansion program, hotel development strategy, and further regional infrastructure efforts.
For downtown Hingham, the strategy emphasizes infill development opportunities, improved waterfront connectivity, and tourism enhancement. The Station Street parking lot represents the greatest potential for sizable mixed-use development including retail, restaurant, residential, hotel, or community gathering space.
The shipyard district benefits from ferry access, with a five-minute walking radius from the MBTA ferry terminal offering opportunities to attract Boston day-trippers. The large MBTA parking lot presents potential for large-scale mixed-use development similar to existing shipyard build-out.
"There's potential there with the ferry service to drive more people into this district from Boston," Dworetsky said, noting the area could support retail, restaurants, hotels, and potentially class A / “trophy” office space.
South Hingham offers the most substantial development opportunities, particularly near the Route 3 exit at Derby Street, which provides excellent highway visibility for retail, food and beverage, recreation, and hotel uses. A large lot south of Route 3 represents the prime location for industrial-type development, including light industrial, technology, advanced manufacturing, or office campus uses.
The consultants identified tourism as a significantly under-leveraged opportunity, citing Hingham's historic and recreational assets, walkable downtown, scenic harbor, and regional shopping destinations.
"Hingham lacks a more cohesive tourism identity or destination branding that people might not know about Hingham in the region the way they might know about a place like Plymouth," Dworetsky noted.
Planning Board member Gordon Carr emphasized the unique combination of assets. "There are places in Massachusetts that have lovely waterfronts and there are places that have lovely downtowns and there are places that have a lot of historic character and history to them," Carr said. "There aren't a lot of places that have all three of those in the proximity that we have."
Several residents raised questions about traffic impacts, infrastructure costs, and connectivity between districts. One resident suggested exploring bike-sharing programs and shuttle services to connect the shipyard and downtown areas.
Robert indicated the town will continue collecting public feedback through the end of the week and work to finalize the strategy for wider community distribution. The plan will serve as a foundation for communicating development goals with regional and state partners. The plan is available on the Town’s website.
The Select Board also approved multiple liquor license applications for summer events, appointed James Arnpriester as part-time assistant harbormaster for a three-year term, and conducted numerous board and committee reappointments.
The board proclaimed June 2025 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month and June 19 as Juneteenth Independence Day. Members also discussed their fiscal year 2026 goals, including infrastructure investments, financial stewardship initiatives, and enhanced community communications.
Robert announced that Verizon has completed cell infrastructure improvements at 30 Green Street, with residents reporting substantially improved cell service in the town square area.