Worcester Approves $583M City Square

^ Great news. I'm sure Worcester's ex-mayor will be out celebrating this weekend!!
 
I find this really interesting.... they are buildign the road through the mall before they tear it down. Its so that they can work under a roof to make the construction go faster. crazy.

http://www.newcitysquare.com/ground...es/groundbreaking_20120113_ALookIntoTime.html
A look into time
CitySquare developers give tour
By Nick Kotsopoulos TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

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From left, City Councilor Frederick C. Rushton listens as Donald Birch, senior vice president/chief operating officer of Leggat McCall Properties LLC, talks about the construction of CitySquare during a tour of the site yesterday. (T&G Staff Photos/PAUL KAPTEYN)

WORCESTER - The developer of CitySquare yesterday provided a glimpse into the downtown's past, present and future during a tour of the project site.

Inside what remains of the stripped-down and cavernous, glass-roof atrium of the former Worcester Common Outlets mall, work has begun on the construction of a street.

Where shoppers used to stroll between stores in the indoor mall, where escalators once ferried people between its two floors and where Santa's village used to be set up each holiday season, concrete reinforcement bars and structural slabs are being laid out as the base of what is going to be Mercantile Street, which will run parallel to Commercial Street.

Meanwhile, near the Front Street entrance of the former mall, Donald Birch, senior vice president/chief operating officer of Leggat McCall Properties LLC, told the roughly 20 people who joined him on a tour of the CitySquare site they were standing at what is going to be a key new intersection — Front and Mercantile streets.

Those on the tour were told that one day they will be able stand at that same spot and see City Hall and Main Street in one direction, Union Station and Washington Square in another direction and the DCU Center in yet another.

"One of the key elements of the CitySquare project is opening up that part of the downtown to vehicular and pedestrian traffic," said Timothy J. McGourthy, the city's chief development officer. "It's about connecting Union Station to Main Street and the rest of the downtown."

The viewing of the CitySquare project site was arranged at the request of the City Council Economic Development Committee, after city officials announced that the timing for infrastructure work associated with the project is being pushed up so Front Street can be connected to Washington Square sooner than planned.

City Manager Michael V. O'Brien said the city and CitySquare developer believe it is prudent to move forward at this time with that work to fully realize the value of the remaining development parcels. CitySquare II Development Co. LLC, owner of CitySquare, is managed by Leggat McCall Properties.

"Before we take up these changes, we wanted an opportunity to see firsthand where things stand with the project right now, what can happen and what will happen in the future," said Councilor-at-Large Frederick C. Rushton, chairman of the Economic Development Committee. "This is essentially a business transaction and we're going to have to crunch the numbers to make sure they are in the best interests of Worcester and its residents, but this view has given us a much better idea of where things are going."

Overlooking the cleared-out part of the CitySquare development site, Mr. Birch pointed out on the tour where the extended Front Street is going to run, where the St. Vincent Hospital Center for Cancer Services, underground garage and pedestrian plaza will be built and where other potential development sites will be.

Meanwhile, near the rear of the project site sits roughly 40,000 cubic yards of reclaimed material that Mr. Birch said will be available for re-use. The mountains of concrete and stone on the site from the demolition will be crushed to specifications and reused to support future streets and sidewalks, as well as pad-ready future building sites, he added.

With about 70 percent of the former mall and parking garages slated for demolition to make way for CitySquare having already been razed, the rest of the demolition work is expected to be completed by June. The atrium portion of the mall has been left up so the preliminary work on constructing Mercantile Street can be done under cover during the winter months.

The city manager will be submitting to the City Council Tuesday night an amendment to the District Improvement Financing Program that authorized the city to financially support the public portions of Phase 1A of the project, to reflect the inclusion of extending Front Street through to Washington Square during that phase.

The amendment will also incorporate the construction of Trumbull Street — it will run from Franklin Street to Front Street — in an earlier phase and the redevelopment of the former Notre Dame des Canadiens, which has been incorporated as part of the CitySquare project site.

The Economic Development Committee has scheduled a public hearing for Jan. 31 to take up the DIF amendment. Mr. McGourthy said city officials would like to be able to go before the state with the approved amendment by the end of March.
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^ Good god Worcester is desolate.

When you zoom in to street level, it barely looks like a coherent city.
 
There's a difference between city as corporate center and city as urban center. Urbanism requires more than skyscrapers, as we all know (i assume) but i mention this because when i was younger i thought big buildings = big city atmosphere and all its attendant amenities. Now i see thats not the case. More housing intown would help im sure. Doesnt this project have a res component?
 
Went to the hockey games at the DCU, here's a walk-by:

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Someone should do a study of small cities that have been gutted for as much redevelopment as major cities have received but have seen none of the economic benefits.

Worcester looks like downtown Denver or Dallas if they had never built the skyscrapers that now define them.
 
I have some family in the Worcester area who tell me over the past 10 years the city is becoming what locals call "Mini Boston" meaning it relates with jobs in education, Biotech/Pharmacuticals, and health care. Also Worcester's population continues to grow since it is a close location to Boston and other major New England cities making it a great place to live (yes, even Worcester has some very safe and pleasant neighborhoods). I love driving down Shrewsbury Street (Worcester's Little Italy) and seeing all the different restaurants and bars that have changed or stayed the same. Plus if I am in the mood for a dog I always stop at George's Coney Island...greasy delicousness and oh so cheap! I highly reccomend you check it out if you havent been before.
 
This projects looks amazing. As Worcester (in my opinion) is a very bland city and hopefully this adds more character to the city.
 
One step forward (getting rid of mall) one step back (for the benefit of cars!)
 
This should have a positive pedestrian impact as well. First, it makes the train station much more accessible to downtown, probably cutting 5-10 minutes off the walk. Second, its not like they're transforming this into some major roadway. Better traffic flow through downtown will make for a better pedestrian experience and will make for more active uses than something like a plaza would. Finally, easing access to downtown just makes downtown and any development associated with it easier/more desirable as a destination.
 
This is all true; I think Van and I were just commenting on the language in the article (which was autocentric).
 
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