The Cove | Green Street | Worcester

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cubalibre

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Worcester | Canal District infill/discussion

Given the potential of this section of Worcester I thought it appropriate to start a thread. With the catalyst of Polar Park this area has the potential of being Worcesters equilivant of Boston's Seaport. A little history first. http://thecanaldistrict.com/the-history/ Lay of the land...
archboston.com

Starting a new thread for the proposal that @found5dollar posted in the Canal district thread above. It will be discussed at a planning board meeting this evening. Due to its scale it possibly could face some pushback.

patch.com

Worcester Owns Parcels Under Proposed 13-Story Mixed-Use Building

Worcester in 2019 paid $5.8 million for a cluster of properties in the Canal District. Now a developer needs them for a mixed-use project.
patch.com patch.com

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Source: patch.com
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Seems like a no-brainer for the WRA to fast track the approval to sell, considering the debt that was incurred to acquire said properties.
 
To complete the project, the developer will have to amass seven separate properties.
Click to expand...

In 2020, the developer made two key purchases along the block, paying $200,000 in August to acquire a lot at 103 Green St., and in December paying $900,000 for 89 Green St. — the building that used to house The Lucky Dog Music Hall and The Cove. Another building in the block, 99 Green St., which contains a jewelry store, is still owned by a private trust, according to property records.

The block contains four other properties: 2 Plymouth St., 85 Green St., and 7 and 5 Gold St. All four are owned by the Worcester Redevelopment Authority (WRA)
Click to expand...

I'm not in real estate development, so please bear with me, but publicizing this plan before all seven lots have been acquired seems risky? Gold Block Real Estate already owns 2 of the lots. The WRA owns another 4 and likely is incentivized to be a willing partner and see this project happen. That leaves 99 Green St., which is still privately held. Seems to me the owner can now ask just about any price they want, or at least way more than they could have previously.

Separately, the article states that the WRA acquired the four properties needed for this project plus two more for $5.8 million via eminent domain. The article then goes on to say, "In March 2020, Worcester officials told the Telegram & Gazette that Churchill James was going to buy [5 of the 6 lots] for $3 million". Worcester is selling off 5/6 of what they eminent domained for half of what they paid for it??
 
I had the same reaction. An earlier article stated that 99 Green Street (Jewelry store) is already under contract, but perhaps that changed.

Keane, along with partners Paul and Harry DiLeo last week purchased 89 Green St., the former Lucky Dog Music Hall. They also own 103 Green St. and 99 Green St. under contract, effectively controlling the block of the street from Gold Street to Plymouth Street.
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That's a big boy apartmen/condo building for Worcester. Build it yesterday.
 
theSil said:
I'm not in real estate development, so please bear with me, but publicizing this plan before all seven lots have been acquired seems risky? Gold Block Real Estate already owns 2 of the lots. The WRA owns another 4 and likely is incentivized to be a willing partner and see this project happen. That leaves 99 Green St., which is still privately held. Seems to me the owner can now ask just about any price they want, or at least way more than they could have previously.

Separately, the article states that the WRA acquired the four properties needed for this project plus two more for $5.8 million via eminent domain. The article then goes on to say, "In March 2020, Worcester officials told the Telegram & Gazette that Churchill James was going to buy [5 of the 6 lots] for $3 million". Worcester is selling off 5/6 of what they eminent domained for half of what they paid for it??
Click to expand...

Sadly that sounds par for the course for Worcester.

And I agree, build it yesterday!
 
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I'm surprised the local zoning allows for such size (vertical). The rendering of the building doesn't fit the area. I certainly would like to see the area continued to be developed to make the canal district a desirable destination but this just seems out-of-place to me.
 
For better or worse, the zoning in that area has no height restrictions.
I do like that the facade on Green Street emulates the existing street scape. Where the Cove music hall is now, there will be a 4 story brick facade with a marquis that looks like the original, and the two story building to the right mimics the old furniture store:

A805AF3C-D50D-4E87-9407-D60ED0E9DD59.jpeg



This rooftop will surely be popular:
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Current situation:
D2D5B91B-654E-4B3A-9750-90B199384A36.png
 
citydweller said:
I'm surprised the local zoning allows for such size (vertical). The rendering of the building doesn't fit the area. I certainly would like to see the area continued to be developed to make the canal district a desirable destination but this just seems out-of-place to me.
Click to expand...

I know this seems crazy, but this building is technically only 4 blocks and less than 2,000 feet as-the-crow-flies from the tallest building in Worcester. it may seem like it is tall for the area, but that is because they don't have 600 Main Street in any of the renderings.
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also, for those height people out there, at 163' this will be the tenth tallest building in Worcester.
 
Finally Worcester seems to be growing up. It was one of the deadest, most decrepit cities in New England when I lived there.
 
I guess they didn’t expect a lot of pushback from the planning board because the existing buildings are as good as gone:
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Am I counting wrong? Looks like a typical 5-over-1 setup now so 6 stories. I'd guess that is just economically more feasible because you can use wood construction at that size.
 
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