Worcester Infill and Developments

cubalibre said:
That’s great. Here are two small developments in Worcester:

www.wbjournal.com

Mission Chapel approved for $4.4M apartment complex project

The Worcester Planning Board on Wednesday approved the renovation of the historic Mission Chapel on Summer Street, which will consist of the former church’s conversion into a seven-unit apartment complex.
www.wbjournal.com www.wbjournal.com

1. Mission Chapel construction has started

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Source: myself

Interior:
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Source: T&G
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Worcester is booming amid Boston’s housing affordability crisis. Now its home prices are soaring, too.

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The article kind of blames development but then as you read they finally let reality come out…

“The city has added about 25,000 people over the past 10 years, according to Census data, pushing the population over 200,000. Over the same period, the city has only built some 10,000 housing units, falling far short of demand and driving home prices higher.”

https://www.boston.com/real-estate/...y-crisis-now-its-home-prices-are-soaring-too/
 
That is the FIJI house (oldest frat at WPI as it dates back to 1891) at the corner of Salisbury and Boynton across from Institute Park. It was a time honored tradition at my alma mater WPI to surreptitiously in the dark of the night paint over their rock emblazoned with their letters which used to be in the park directly in front of it. The photo of the new house shows the rock now situated on its property.

WPI has actually added more greek chapters as its enrollment has more than doubled in the last 30 years (now over 5k undergrads) . There are now thirteen frats and seven sororities. Most of these are still located on or near Boynton, Dean, and Wachusett Streets just east of campus between Highland and Salisbury Streets.
 
New England Born & Raised said:
That is the FIJI house (oldest frat at WPI as it dates back to 1891) at the corner of Salisbury and Boynton across from Institute Park. It was a time honored tradition at my alma mater WPI to surreptitiously in the dark of the night paint over their rock emblazoned with their letters which used to be in the park directly in front of it. The photo of the new house shows the rock now situated on its property.

WPI has actually added more greek chapters as its enrollment has more than doubled in the last 30 years (now over 5k undergrads) . There are now thirteen frats and seven sororities. Most of these are still located on or near Boynton, Dean, and Wachusett Streets just east of campus between Highland and Salisbury Streets.
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There's SEVEN sororities now? It was just AGD and Phi Sig when I was there, and that was only 15 years ago.

I should see what the campus looks like at some point, I haven't really been back on it in over a decade.
 
Arenacale said:
There's SEVEN sororities now? It was just AGD and Phi Sig when I was there, and that was only 15 years ago.

I should see what the campus looks like at some point, I haven't really been back on it in over a decade.
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There were three sororities when I went there back in the early to mid 1980's when the undergrad enrollment was only about 2,400. I don't think any had houses when I first got there but Phi Sigma Sigma was renting a house by the time I graduated. Back when I was in school the female population was at 20% of enrollment which equated to around just 480. With today's enrollment of about 5,000, females make up some 40% which translates into 2,000. The school's dramatic increase in students has put a further strain on housing in the area.
 
I visited my alma mater WPI's newest academic building, Unity Hall in early January. It is built into the hill above Boynton Street. Its location was somewhat constroverisal as it blocked the view of at least one of the TWO TOWERS, the Washburn Shops. WPI's motto Lehr und Kunst basically translates into theory and practice. The two towers of the school's oldest buildings, Boynton Hall (theory) and the Washburn Shops (practice/application), represented this motto. The new Unity Hall follows the pattern of the nearby Gordon Library and Fuller Laboratories where there is a low profile on the top of the hill side with several lower levels exposed below. The five story 100,000-square-foot academic and student academic services building opened in 2022. Unlike other academic structures, its interior had few lecture halls as the building appeared to primarily house labs, offices for professors, and meeting spaces. The building also had a lot of open spaces throughout with lots of bench and table & chair seating.

The view from the inside looking east toward the Worcester Art Museum and UMass-Memorial. The East Hall residences and the Arts Walk path connecting Boynton and Dean Streets are in the forefront.
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The view from inside looking southeast toward downtown. The Founder's Hall residences are to the left.
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The exterior of Unity Hall as viewed from the intersection of Institute Road and Boynton Street. Boynton Hall and the Washburn Shops are visible through the trees on the top of the hill to the left.
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Arenacale said:
Did it finally replace those awful stairs by the library that you had to double up to get to class on time from Founders?
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I looked for them as lived near Institute and Boynton for three years and trudged up them frequently. Had to also use them for the computer center (WACCC) back in my day as it was located on a lower level of Gordon Library. These stairs and their wide slate treads are gone with no current route down between Unity and the library.
 
New England Born & Raised said:
I looked for them as lived near Institute and Boynton for three years and trudged up them frequently. Had to also use them for the computer center (WACCC) back in my day as it was located on a lower level of Gordon Library. These stairs and their wide slate treads are gone with no current route down between Unity and the library.
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So can students cut up through Union or do they need to head to Fuller to go up the stairs there?

And why do I care so much about an experience I had for 2 years in life that I will never have again?
 
Arenacale said:
So can students cut up through Union or do they need to head to Fuller to go up the stairs there?

And why do I care so much about an experience I had for 2 years in life that I will never have again?
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The only routes to the top of the hill from Boynton Street now appear to be the long walk by the Skull Tomb with two sets of stairs that bring you out to the front door side of Boynton, The switchback road by the Skull Tomb, Unity Hall internal stairs and elevators, and the stairs by Fuller/Kaven. With three dorms and many of the frats close to Unity Hall, I would think it will be the most frequently used route to the main hilltop portion of campus from the east.
 
^^ The amount of trash in the streets of this city is staggering.
 
cubalibre said:
^^ The amount of trash in the streets of this city is staggering.
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Just scroll up to a few pics and you'll see no trash whatsoever in a panoramic view. But sure, be selectively to accentuate the negativity.
 
citydweller said:
Just scroll up to a few pics and you'll see no trash whatsoever in a panoramic view. But sure, be selectively to accentuate the negativity.
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I mean...the picture isn't a lie, and the issue isn't a lie either. several streets around my neighborhood look like the streetview cubalibre posted. streets around WPI are kept clean, and streets around polar park etc (there are always folks doing trash cleanups). some of the streets around the core though.....trash...trash...trash
 
This awesome fifties-style diner in Lincoln Plaza has been sitting empty for at least five years. Now it’s reportedly being torn down and replaced by a “Popeyes”.

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Source: MassLive
 
cubalibre said:
This awesome fifties-style diner in Lincoln Plaza has been sitting empty for at least five years. Now it’s reportedly being torn down and replaced by a “Popeyes”.

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Source: MassLive
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Not worth being sad about. It was built by a chain maybe a decade ago when the shopping plaza was still kinda nice. It wasn't anything special.

Went into that Target recently becauseI was nearby and holy shit it is ghetto Target. I wanted to buy some pants and everything is just thrown around without organization, things falling apart, and all the dressing rooms locked without a way to find an attendent.

What an absolute dump compared to how it was after it opened.
 
It's about time. I actually thought that would be good location for a liquor store. Surprisingly, there are few options on that part of Lincoln St and that plaza get a ton of business.
 
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