Worcester Infill and Developments

[WormtownNative]

Worcester is definitively a city with lots of untapped potential.

Understatement of the year.

 

[SlothofDespond]

Ive always wondered why the Art Museum hasnt bought the Aud. They could do some amazing large scale installation work ala Mass MOCA in the main hall and acquire the murals in the lobby as a new part of their collection.

EDIT: or even as a new wing for the higgins collection.

The Art Museum strikes me as an entity that is very content doing what it is doing right now, at the size it is at right now. It doesn't have many (any?) major area power brokers driving it. It's a nice thing and seemingly competently run but ambitious it is not.

Completed in 1974, Worcester Plaza is currently tied with Sky Mark Tower as the tallest building in Worcester. It stands 289 feet (88 m) tall, is 24 stories high, and has 244,000 square feet (22,700 m2) of total floor space. Its facade is completely glass, similar to the 790-foot (240 m) John Hancock Tower in nearby Boston.

The floor space inside is poorly laid out compared to modern towers. Those indents on the front and back screw up the space inside. Worse, the grass plaza next to it across from City Hall it is killing that chunk of the street. It's on my tear-down wishlist (and I know it will never happen in my lifetime).

The story of that tower is Worcester in a nutshell. An ambitious plan scaled down to a pathetic and almost pointless degree. Why build a 20-story tower set far back from the street and leave the lot next to it open and dead? That stretch of Main Street screams for street wall buildings that are about a third of the height of the tower.

 

[393b40]

Does anyone know why Worcester is so spread out for a city of it's origin era? The city had some serious urban renewal that happened in the 1960's, but great chunks of the city just feel so completely disconnected from each other in a way Boston isn't or even the smaller New England gateway cities like Lowell or Quincy.

The floor space inside is poorly laid out compared to modern towers. Those indents on the front and back screw up the space inside. Worse, the grass plaza next to it across from City Hall it is killing that chunk of the street. It's on my tear-down wishlist (and I know it will never happen in my lifetime).

The story of that tower is Worcester in a nutshell. An ambitious plan scaled down to a pathetic and almost pointless degree. Why build a 20-story tower set far back from the street and leave the lot next to it open and dead? That stretch of Main Street screams for street wall buildings that are about a third of the height of the tower.

That tower seems pretty fixable. Putting up an inviting street wall doesn't seem like it would be too hard if the owner was ambitious enough to do it. Never been on the inside of the glass one, but if it's anything like 100 Front St. in Worcester which has a very 70's layout inside (individual offices, tight hallways, open secretary areas) then that seems fixable. The future of office towers seems to be open work spaces with quirky little alcoves for employees to relax or whatever.

 

[DBM]

Does anyone know why Worcester is so spread out for a city of it's origin era? The city had some serious urban renewal that happened in the 1960's

You're answering your own question there, aren't you? 1960s-era urban renewal--the most egregious example being CitySquare area, I presume--had as deadening & sterilizing an effect in downtown Worcester as anywhere else in terms of destroying dense intimately-scaled visually interesting pre-WWII street fabric with hulking low-density brutalist structures that shunned street life with their endless concrete walls. I'm sure I-290 had an effect, too; it cuts off the downtown core from that stretch of Shrewsbury St. that is pretty vibrant.

The following major civic/cultural centers all within .8 miles of Worcester City Hall/Common, which is to say, a 15-minute walk:

Union Station (.3 miles)
Blackstone Canal (.3 miles)
Mechanics Hall (.15 miles)
Palladium (.25 miles)
DCU Center (.15 miles)
Hanover Theater (.15 miles)
Worcester Historical Museum (.2 miles)
Worcester Public Library (.15 miles)
Worcester YMCA (.25 miles)
Worcester Memorial Auditorium (.65 miles)
Worcester Art Museum (.7 miles)
Worcester Polytechnic Inst. (.8 miles)

And the disconnect is where? It's not as if urban renewal somehow lengthened the distances between all these critical institutions. It just made it a helluva a lot more pedestrian-unfriendly via a variety of means.

 

[WormtownNative]

Does anyone know why Worcester is so spread out for a city of it's origin era? The city had some serious urban renewal that happened in the 1960's, but great chunks of the city just feel so completely disconnected from each other in a way Boston isn't or even the smaller New England gateway cities like Lowell or Quincy.

To my knowledge, Worcester developed around the mills. Greendale developed around the mills where Norton is today; Webster Square, around the mills on Webster St; Quinsigamond Village around the mills and industry on the Blackstone.

Worcester was never developed as a city - it was chunks here and there with infill to connect it all.

 

[stick n move]

Via Mercantile Worcester

Front street towers renamed mercantile towers, interior construction underway.

http://www.mercantileworcester.com/news/

 

[DBM]

To my knowledge, Worcester developed around the mills. Greendale developed around the mills where Norton is today; Webster Square, around the mills on Webster St; Quinsigamond Village around the mills and industry on the Blackstone.

Worcester was never developed as a city - it was chunks here and there with infill to connect it all.

Certainly, Worcester was intensely mill-centric in the 1800s. The Blackstone river valley corridor was the most industrialized river valley in the world ca. 1820-1900.

That said, to claim that Worcester didn't grow up organically around a natural downtown core is just laughable. For fuck's sake, its literal Main Street runs directly past the City Hall, which abuts the colonial-era Town Common, which is just 300 yards from Union Station. In-between the City Hall/Town Common is the Blackstone Canal. If that doesn't qualify as a natural downtown city, then what the hell does?

 

[WormtownNative]

Maker space coming to Worcester's Ionic Ave. Boys and Girls Club

SAM BONACCI

A 30,000 square-foot maker space with approximately 25 studios and offices is under construction at the former Ionic Avenue Boys and Girls Club.

The space set to be completed in six to nine months, which will be called the Creative Hub Worcester, is designed to give artists an affordable location to create, according Laura Marotta, who co-founded the space with fellow artist Stacy Lord. The new space at 2 Ionic Ave. is being built out in response to the needs of the community, she said, as gathered in a Creative Space Survey conducted by the city that found artists wanted more affordable and accessible studio space. This reuse of buildings in Worcester has been part of an ongoing discussion among city officials and those in the arts community.

According to Marotta, the new space will help bring together the wide-spread artists of Worcester while also retaining them in the city.

"One of our biggest missions is retaining college kids and artists in the city … a lot of artists are going out to Providence and Boston because there is more space for them," she said, explaining that much of the current studio space in the city is at capacity.

The building is also designed to be a hub for all artists, with an outdoor event space planned for the roof of the building as well as a gallery and classroom space.

Marotta and Lord teamed up with Peter Heaney, property owner of 2 Ionic Ave. and owner of On-Site Carpentry. Heaney's original idea of turning the building into a self-storage facility was tabled once he learned of the business plan for Creative Hub Worcester.

This is much, much better than his original plan of a storage facility.

FULL ARTICLE

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The Diocese has also been denied a demolition delay waiver for Our Lady of Mt. Carmel church on Mulberry St.

From Worcester Mag:

Worcester Diocese to implement ‘make-safe’ plan at Mount Carmel

By Walter Bird Jr.

The Catholic Diocese of Worcester will go ahead with a “make-safe” plan at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, after losing a bid to waive the demolition delay ordinance this week.

Church officials, who shuttered the 28 Mulberry St. church in May, citing safety concerns after the building architect said it could not certify the safety of the church, had wanted to tear it down. The city, however, has a 12-month demolition delay ordinance. The Historical Commission Thursday night denied the church’s request for a waiver.

“Given that the request for a waiver to demolish Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church was denied on June 9 by the Historical Commission, the parish will have to proceed with the “make-safe” plan developed by the structural engineers at Gorman Richardson Lewis Architects in the interest of public safety,” the statement reads. “Overall, this will involve fabricating and installing bands to secure the cupola along with completing the waterproofing of the exposed brick behind the facade. It will also involve securing the facade to the supporting wall at an estimated additional cost of $120,000. The Diocese will assist with loans to get this done promptly.”

All Masses, according to the statement, will continue to be held at Our Lady of Loreto Church, 33 Massasoit Road, where services were moved after Mount Carmel closed last month.

Asked whether the Historical Commission’s decision would, in any way, affect the Diocese’s decision to keep Mount Carmel closed and tear it down, a spokesperson for the Diocese said, “Our focus at the moment is on public safety.”

FULL ARTICLE

 

[WormtownNative]

Hanover Theatre expansion seeks to anchor Theatre District

CAITLIN REIDY

Hanover Theatre's new $6.5-million expansion is aiming to enliven Worcester's Theatre District by attracting rich economic development.

The historic theater located at 2 Southbridge St. was reestablished and renovated in 2008 and is now connected to a 24,000-square-foot adjacent building that will be used to utilize the new features, including a restaurant and a conservatory, that the historic site has to offer.

"There's nothing like this in Worcester," said Troy Siebels, Hanover Theatre president and CEO. "This expansion will make Worcester comparable with Boston's Theatre District, only with better parking."

The ribbon connecting the Hanover Theatre and its new expansion was cut on June 2, commemorating the introduction of the new advancement, which began to develop in 2014 after the purchase of the building. The addition is named in honor of Frederick Eppinger, president and CEO of Worcester's Hanover Insurance and theater contributor. The structure is joined to the main building at all three levels.

Siebels said the purpose of this extension is to extend function space for the theater, enhance the district's appeal and to promote the new conservatory. The expansion will feature a theater and dance education room on the lower level for students ranging from preschool through high school, more business function rooms for pre- and post-events, and a restaurant partnership that has yet to be established.

The new Hanover expansion is expected to bring robust economic development to Worcester by giving visitors a reason to stay in the city and take advantage of the shopping, culture and nightlife that the city has to offer, said Christina Andreoli, vice president of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce

The expansion will help to market and promote Worcester to outsiders, which will attract consumers to the thriving Theatre District, Andreoli said.

The original structure for the building was built in 1904 and was known as the Franklin Square Theatre, according to the theater's website.

The building is referred to as an example of early 20th century theater architecture, which makes renovating the historic theater a difficult project to produce due to the significant contribution the landmark has had on Worcester, said Siebels.

It is important to expand the theater to bring in more people to the city without changing what originally made the historic organization captivating in the first place, Siebels said.

When the Hanover Theatre was initially renovated in 2008, there were about 25 concert and comedy shows per year, which performed about two showings for each ensemble.

Now, there are approximately twice the number of the original productions per year and performance groups typically present six showings or more, bringing in more consumers to the theater, said Siebels.

"Eighty percent of the shows' audience comes from outside of Worcester," Siebels said. "With this new expansion, we hope to draw an even larger audience from a broader circle."

The closing of performing arts schools in the area makes the expansion more significant than ever because the conservatory is in high demand for students who want to learn the art of theater, dance and Broadway, Siebels said.

FULL ARTICLE

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The ice rink facility officially broke ground last month. Not sure if I believe these numbers:

The $18 million project will be spearheaded by a $2.7 million environmental clean-up of the former Presmet/GKN Sinter Metals industrial complex by the Worcester Business Development Corporation. The complex has been vacant since GKN Sinter Metals closed its operations in 2007.
New Garden Park (NGP) purchased the property in 2015 and turned it over to Worcester Sports Center, LLC, a development team consisting of Worcester Railers Hockey Club owner Cliff Rucker and Marathon Sports Group, to construct twin skating rinks, according to a release from the WBDC.

NGP anticipates completing the remediation work and delivering the site to the developer, Worcester Sports Center, LLC, by early summer 2016. This facility will include two full sheets of ice, locker room facilities, and approximately 40,000 square feet of retail space. It is expected that this new facility will be the potential "home ice" for a number of local schools and recreational hockey organizations. The new Worcester Railers ECHL team will also utilize the complex as their training and conditioning facility while playing their games at the nearby DCU Center.

Potential?! If that isn't poor wording on the writer's part, this thing is going to be the white elephant of the canal district before it's even completed.

Based on the market analysis, WBDC estimates the facility will generate approximately $3.5 million in direct economic impact, drawing 50,000 people on an annual basis to the area for both multi-day tournaments and regular games.

FULL ARTICLE

 

[WormtownNative]

Worcester City Council approves urban renewal plan

By Nick Kotsopoulos
Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER - In a move hailed as a potential watershed moment for the downtown, the City Council Tuesday night unanimously approved an urban revitalization plan that provides a strategic approach to encourage the redevelopment of selected properties identified as underused and in need of investment.

The 20-year, $104 million plan, which was drafted by the Worcester Redevelopment Authority working in conjunction with the city administration, encompasses 118.4 acres, covers approximately 118 parcels and 380 properties downtown, extending southwesterly to the vacant Wyman Gordon parcels off Madison Street.

It identifies for potential acquisition through eminent domain 20 properties and six condominium units in the Denholm Building. That is four fewer properties than what was originally called for in the plan.

Properties located at 300 Southbridge St., 328 Southbridge St., 346 Southbridge St. and 4 Quinsigamond Ave. have been removed from the list of properties for potential acquisition through eminent domain, according to Michael E. Traynor, the city's chief development officer.

Instead, those properties are now classified as "Priority Private Redevelopment" properties, he said.

City officials hope the plan will encourage the targeted property owners to invest in their properties or consider selling them to parties willing to invest in them.

City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. reiterated that eminent domain would be a tool of last resort.

"We want to work with these property owners and bring our skills and expertise," he said. "We see eminent domain happening very rarely and as a last resort. Every step of the way, this City Council will be part of the process."

The plan next goes to the state Department of Housing and Community Development for approval.

If all the targeted properties are redeveloped, it could lead to the creation of 1,100 construction jobs and 1,400 permanent jobs, according to city officials.

"I have several concerns, not about this plan but about the status quo," said District 5 Councilor Gary Rosen. "I can't stand the status quo. I'm tired of seeing buildings not fully utilized, not attractive, not clean and not welcoming.

"This plan will change the status quo and will change it dramatically," he continued. "It will bring a lot of good. It's time that Worcester took a better look at its downtown."

District 1 Councilor Tony Economou, chairman of the council's Economic Development Committee, said the downtown revitalization plan will not only define the City Council, but the city as well.

"This is an opportunity for us to bring everything together with this plan," Mr. Economou said. "This plan is not to just take; it's to accommodate. It's aggressive, progressive and bold. If our option is to stay (with) the status quo, we would be making a grave mistake."

WRA Chairman Vincent A. Pedone said a key provision of the plan is the important check-and-balance role the City Council will play in its implementation.

He said no property will be taken through eminent domain without the approval of the council. He said the WRA does not have the ability to finance eminent domain takings on its own.

As a result, Mr. Pedone said, if there are any eminent domain takings they will have to go before the council on a case-by-case basis for funding, with a super-majority (eight votes) required for approval.

"The City Council has control of the purse strings," he said. "That is the major check-and-balance to this plan."

Several councilors said that provision was key to their support of the plan.

"There are some good parts to this plan," said Councilor-at-Large Morris A. Bergman. "My vote in favor of this plan should not be interpreted as an endorsement of eminent domain. But the fact that the City Council has ultimate control over eminent domain on a case-by-case basis under this plan is very important."

FULL ARTICLE

Edit: Don't know why the image isn't working - just click on it and it will open in a new tab.

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Also, unfortunately behind a paywall, the Worcester-Providence commuter train from the Boston Surface Railway is surprisingly, actually working towards getting a train running - now estimated as the summer of 2018 at the earliest.

http://worcester.ma/2016/06/worcester-providence-rail-plans-picking-up-steam/

 

[WormtownNative]

You win some.......

Second food truck zone set for downtown Worcester at Mercantile Plaza

By Lindsay Corcoran | lindsay.corcoran@masslive.com

WORCESTER -- Food trucks will be welcomed in downtown Worcester thanks to a new "Food Truck Friendly Zone" proposed for Mercantile Plaza.

City Manager Edward Augustus, Jr. has proposed two zones, including a previously announced zone planned in front of the Memorial Auditorium at 1 Lincoln Square.

"The city has already experienced an influx of food truck activity as a result of our revisiting the regulatory environment," Augustus wrote in a letter to city councilors. "We look forward to the additional benefits results from this ordinance, especially as it relates to place-making efforts and quality of life for our residents, workers and visitors."

The City Council last year approved a pilot program for food trucks in spots around the city, seven years after creating regulations that were so restrictive it effectively barred the trucks in much of the city.

This proposed food truck zone downtown is on private property at Mercantile Plaza.

The Mercantile Plaza is part of the larger Mercantile Center development project being carried out by Franklin Realty Advisors and their partners, who have requested this designation.

FULL ARTICLE

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You *FACEPALM*

Zenith Drive residents say Airbnb guests disrupting Worcester neighborhood
By Nick Kotsopoulos
Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER - The City Council has asked the administration to create regulations to prohibit homeowners in residential-zoned areas from being able to rent rooms to guests for short- or long-term overnight lodging.
It wants such homes, which are usually listed on the website, Airbnb.com, to be allowed only in commercially-zoned areas, and required to obtain a business license from the city.

In a related matter, the council is also urging the administration to consider seeking an injunction against a homeowner on Zenith Drive who has been renting out rooms in her home to guests.

About a dozen residents of Zenith Drive showed up at Tuesday night's council meeting to complain about a home at 65 Zenith Drive. They said the owner has been renting out rooms for overnight lodging through the Airbnb.com website for about eight months.

They said the operation is changing the residential character of their neighborhood because the homeowner is effectively running a lodging business out of her home.

"This is a full-scale commercial enterprise in a very residential neighborhood," said Patricia O'Sullivan of 58 Zenith Drive, who added there have been times when as many as six unrelated people have been staying in the home at the same time.

Councilor-at-Large Morris A. Bergman said there appears to be ample evidence to close the business down because of the instances when three or more unrelated people have stayed there which is in violation of city ordinances.

"This isn't a lodging house, but there is ample evidence that three or more unrelated people have been living there at the same time," Mr. Bergman said. "I hope we aggressively pursue an injunction against this homeowner so the Zenith Drives of the future don't have to deal with something like this."

Councilor-at-Large Michael T. Gaffney also questioned whether the homeowner has made any hotel/motel tax payments to the city since she is operating a lodging business.
According to the city assessor's office, the home is owned by Solange Costa Silva.

District 5 Councilor Gary Rosen said through the website Airbnb.com people are in effect turning their homes into overnight lodging businesses, without having to undergo any scrutiny from the city or having to meet zoning requirements.

He said he has been told that the homeowner on Zenith Drive has been renting out four bedrooms in the upstairs of the home.

FULL ARTICLE

 

[WormtownNative]

Jeez, it's really been since June that I updated this? I'll have to make a note to drive around Woo and get some update shots like this one:

The Osgood Bradley building (8/18 Grafton St. aka "Edge at Union Station) is complete and occupied.

A few brief notes:

-CitySquare is busy as ever, with the garage completed and open and several projects currently underway.

-The hotel in Washington Square just finished the framework of the entire building.

-Table Talk Pies is expanding, and it is my understanding that they will be moving the entire operation to the South Worcester Industrial Park. Additionally, they are also opening a store front on Green St. Rough estimation on that opening is by the end of the month.

-For the beer drinkers: Wormtown Brewery is expanding operations to up to 50,000 barrels annually. They produced 20,000 last year.

-WPI also just broke ground on the Foisie Innovation Studio earlier this month.

-Lastly, Clark has finished their Alumni and Student Engagement Center:

 

[Digital_Islandboy]

The biggest problem with the Worcester-Framingham Line is there are too many stops that are too close together. Grafton/Westborough, Southborough/Ashland, Framingham/West Natick, 3 Wellesley stops. The 3 Newton stops are pretty close together but atleast Newton has 85,000 people.

Privatize the whole thing. The MBTA keeps adding stations too to make matters worse. Yawkey Way was added. Brighton is being added. Who knows if more will be added in Newton. It's going to get slower because Commuter Rail is getting treated like a subway line.

 

[The EGE]

Congratulations, you're this week's winner for the dumbest argument for privatization.

Seriously, though - that's a failure in planning and operations, and a private operator would only be worse. Westborough and Ashland are poorly located because quick fixes - cheap parking sinks away from downtown areas - because they were designed for short-term revenue maximization rather than long-term planning goals. (They were put in place as quick mitigation for Greenbush line delays). They're also exactly where a private owner-operator would have put them. The long-term view require moving the stations to downtown areas, moving parking demand away from Ashland, increasing walkability of the town centers, using structured parking to minimize land use, etc - all of which are broader quality-of-life impacts and would not improve the bottom line of a private operator.

It's not that it's "being treated line a subway line" - it's that there has been a broader failure to invest the ~$250M needed to bring the inner half of the line up to standard. Proper investment means that you can operate multiple service patterns, and needed infill stops don't slow down your longer trains. New signalling system to allow expresses to pass locals - so a train that hits every stop from Worcester to Framingham can doesn't get stuck behind the Framingham local. (Under a properly designed schedule, there would be no all-stops locals except at some lower-demand hours on weekends). Speed increases to 90mph on the straightaways - who cares about the two minutes that adding Yawkey to every train involves, when your overall running time could drop by 5-10 minutes. High-level platforms to minimize dwell times. Riverside-turning local service to mop up all the stops inside 128, so that your only stop before Yawkey is a Newton Corner superstation that hits a whole bunch of bus transfers, plus the Riverside locals.

Private money doesn't bring that investment. Private money gets you Boston Landing station, which serves New Balance but is poorly located for the Allston-Brighton community and has zero bus transfers. (Public process would have moved it a block east to Union Square, where changing to the 66 would cut travel time to Harvard by 15 minutes versus the Red Line). The last time the Worcester Line was fully private was 1973, when there were 2 Framingham turns and one Worcester train per day, and no stops between Framingham and Worcester.

 

[BostonUrbEx]

. . . that's a failure in planning and operations . . . Proper investment means that you can operate multiple service patterns . . .

Boom! There we go.

 

[JohnJ]

http://www.telegram.com/news/20160913/judge-orders-worcester-to-build-footbridge-for-downtown-hotel

Unfortunately classic Worcester government. Sign a contract to do something, don't do it, get ordered to build it anyway for twice the cost.

 

[393b40]

Privatize the whole thing. The MBTA keeps adding stations too to make matters worse. Yawkey Way was added. Brighton is being added. Who knows if more will be added in Newton. It's going to get slower because Commuter Rail is getting treated like a subway line.

Also the 55min Worcester -> Boston express is kind of a joke in that they base it by when you reach Yawkey from several recent experiences. It's another 10min before you're at SS. I'm sure they'll say it's a 45min Worcester - Boston ride when Boston Landing opens up if it's a 1A station.

 

[Boston02124]

Today

 

[SlothofDespond]

That crane is for the steel starting to go up for the City Square hotel. About half of the first floor is now done.

The first half of the City Square apartments/condos is now up and garage work appears underway but nothing really above ground there. The other half of the apartments/condos (other side of the garage) is still a staging area for other construction.

The park looks like it might be ready just in time for winter. Significant sidewalk and paving work happening this week. Most of the facade work on the remaining mall structure is now up as well. It's hard to tell when that will be ready for occupancy. I think UMass is moving into most of it with a couple retail spaces on the first floor.

 

[stick n move]

Any bets on when Worcester gets its new tallest...or any new tower in general? There hasn't been a proposal I can remember in decades. Back in the day they were going to build the tallest building in NE. It would be nice to see them build at least a new tallest some time in our lifetimes.