Beyond being the future site of a revolutionary nuclear fusion startup, a decommissioned military base in central Massachusetts has become a hot spot for state construction beyond Boston, with more than $1 billion in life sciences and other research and manufacturing redevelopment activity underway.
Companies ranging from a nuclear fusion startup to logistics firms are locating at the former 4,400-acre Fort Devens site, located about 40 miles northwest of Boston. The base, built in 1917, closed in 1996 and is now primarily controlled by the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, known as MassDevelopment. The quasi-independent state authority has since redeveloped the site into a modern commercial and industrial park, with a small residential component as well.