Worcester Infill and Developments

stick n move said:
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.
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I'm gonna say not in my lifetime, and i'm 21.
 
Development deal with Brady Sullivan for the Courthouse is DEAD.

Developer terminates $1.2M Worcester courthouse sale

SAM BONACCI

The city of Worcester is seeking a new buyer for the former Worcester County Courthouse after Brady Sullivan Properties terminated its sale agreement to buy the former Worcester County Courthouse from the city.

"Since this agreement was announced, Worcester has seen multiple residential projects launched in and around downtown, and I'm confident the demand is there to find a quality developer in short order," City Manager Ed Augustus said in a statement.

Brady Sullivan agreed to purchase the former courthouse in 2015 for $1.2 million, with plans to convert the building into a projected 115-market-rate residential apartments with 3,000 square-feet of retail space, according to the city. As part of the agreement, the city will retain a $120,000 deposit.
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FULL ARTICLE
 
Drove by worcester today for the first time in a long time. Theres a new building that looks to be topped out right next to the highway and the part of city center across from the new hospital looked topped out as well.
 
Posted this in the "Design a Better Boston" thread too:

WORCESTER - Boston Surface Railroad, the company aiming to connect Worcester and Providence by commuter rail, has moved into new offices in Woonsocket, R.I.

Situated almost halfway between Providence and Worcester, Woonsocket will likely be the commuter rail's only stop. According to Boston Surface's website, the company hopes to start trips in early 2018 and is exploring the option of beginning service from Woonsocket to Providence earlier than that.


Boston Surface's plan to connect these cities has been in the works since late 2014, with the company negotiating use of existing tracks owned by The Providence and Worcester Railroad Co. No material agreements have been reached yet, according to Charles D. Rennick, secretary and general counsel for P&W.
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Full story: http://www.telegram.com/news/20160626/commuter-rail-company-moves-to-woonsocket

I don't know anything about this project. Early 2018 seems like it's extremely optimistic. "Woonsocket-Providence even earlier than that" seems even more unrealistic. Anyone know anything about this?
 
Construction on the second, smaller portion of the City Square apartments appears to be under way. Windows are installed in the larger portion and cladding is going up, the garage looks complete. The hotel across the street is about 4/5 floors up at this point. I think it caps at 6. There has been some buzz about the restaurants opening downtown--Niche Hospitality Group (The Fix, Mezcal, Bocado) is looking to open something next winter. The whole district feels slightly more upbeat about the future.
 
This is getting demolished? What a shithole city.

notre+dame+1.jpg


https://www.strongtowns.org/journal...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
 
Hubman said:
Sad. All the NIMBYs are worrying about two inches of shadow on Boston Common while they let this beautiful old building be demolished.
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Counter-proposal: Demolition everything in Worcester except this building. Would love to come across this building in the middle of the regrown forest.
 
Justin7 said:
Counter-proposal: Demolition everything in Worcester except this building. Would love to come across this building in the middle of the regrown forest.
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All those shadows would make to much shade and violate the law 0-233448 that prohibits trees from casting shadows on themselves.

:rolleyes:
 
Justin7 said:
Counter-proposal: Demolition everything in Worcester except this building. Would love to come across this building in the middle of the regrown forest.
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It does look like a Zelda temple.
 
Justin7 said:
Counter-proposal: Demolition everything in Worcester except this building. Would love to come across this building in the middle of the regrown forest.
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Worcester actually has a lot of historic buildings worth saving, including multiple churches nicer looking than this one. It is still a huge loss, and likely unnecessary. I wish there was a way to block its demolition.
 
What do you folks propose be done with it? It's sitting on prime land in downtown Worcester and doesn't function as a church anymore. There are much much nicer churches throughout the city including the Cathedral which is a half mile away. It's awkwardly positioned in downtown and just doesn't really have a sense of place or belonging in the neighborhood.

As a former Worcesterite it's always kind of been the black sheep structure of downtown Worcester and I'm OK with it being torn down.
 
meddlepal said:
What do you folks propose be done with it? It's sitting on prime land in downtown Worcester and doesn't function as a church anymore. There are much much nicer churches throughout the city including the Cathedral which is a half mile away. It's awkwardly positioned in downtown and just doesn't really have a sense of place or belonging in the neighborhood.

As a former Worcesterite it's always kind of been the black sheep structure of downtown Worcester and I'm OK with it being torn down.
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Losing this beautiful building is a shame. It's not exactly downtown Boston, there are empty lots and empty buildings that need rehab in downtown Worcester.

But I guess in the end this is the property the developer already owns.
 
Losing this beautiful building is a shame. It's not exactly downtown Boston, there are empty lots and empty buildings that need rehab in downtown Worcester.
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Yes.

But I guess in the end this is the property the developer already owns.
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Bingo.

The answer is all of it needs redeveloping. I don't get the attitude here of several posters. It's a nice-ish church structure, but it's also 5 minute walking distance from Union Station. Do you want TOD or pretty, but useless, buildings? And yes I realize it doesn't always need to be a binary yes or no answer to that question, but in this case I don't see a lot of good redevelopment options while preserving the structure of the church.
 
meddlepal said:
Bingo.

The answer is all of it needs redeveloping. I don't get the attitude here of several posters. It's a nice-ish church structure, but it's also 5 minute walking distance from Union Station. Do you want TOD or pretty, but useless, buildings? And yes I realize it doesn't always need to be a binary yes or no answer to that question, but in this case I don't see a lot of good redevelopment options while preserving the structure of the church.
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I'm sorry if I come off as negative or harsh, I'm not trying to be insulting, but What ? "Useless building"? This building should never be torn down, nor even considered for demolition!

City Square, should have been a retail project first, at it's entire base, Assembly Row, being a good local example of the mix, only done better.

The model isn't new, it's retail as entertainment, an even better example of the retail part/ mix would be the Grove in Los Angeles, only massed differently and built to include more mixed use.
http://www.thegrovela.com/

With City Square, they have many of those mixed use elements Housing, Office, Hotel, but the retail is just a token thought, scattered and isolated, with little to no connection with each other and only a tiny fraction of the square footage needed, for retail to be successful.

As for the church itself, that should have been the signature piece of City Square, as far as how it could have been intergraded, meaning the use, there are many examples of church re-uses, that would fit within this model, ranging from bookstores to a mixture of bars and restaurants and so on. So finding a re-use isn't the problem, it just needs to be redeveloped/merchandized in a broader context.


http://www.treehugger.com/green-arc...-church-converted-21st-century-bookstore.html


With some creative thought, they can still do this in part. it would be a retrofit and have some limitations, but it can work.
 
GUYS HOLD YOUR HORSES and do some research before sounding off. Jass just blasted off his post but the most recent news chronicles previous and unsuccessful attempts to demolish it and most recently, the sale of the building to an as-yet unknown entity. There are lots of preservationists fighting for this thing... and there's nothing definitive at this point. So save your rancor until we actually have something to get mad about.
 
GreatCities said:
I'm sorry if I come off as negative or harsh, I'm not trying to be insulting, but What ? "Useless building"? This building should never be torn down, nor even considered for demolition!

City Square, should have been a retail project first, at it's entire base, Assembly Row, being a good local example of the mix, only done better.

The model isn't new, it's retail as entertainment, an even better example of the retail part/ mix would be the Grove in Los Angeles, only massed differently and built to include more mixed use.
http://www.thegrovela.com/

With City Square, they have many of those mixed use elements Housing, Office, Hotel, but the retail is just a token thought, scattered and isolated, with little to no connection with each other and only a tiny fraction of the square footage needed, for retail to be successful.

As for the church itself, that should have been the signature piece of City Square, as far as how it could have been intergraded, meaning the use, there are many examples of church re-uses, that would fit within this model, ranging from bookstores to a mixture of bars and restaurants and so on. So finding a re-use isn't the problem, it just needs to be redeveloped/merchandized in a broader context.


http://www.treehugger.com/green-arc...-church-converted-21st-century-bookstore.html


With some creative thought, they can still do this in part. it would be a retrofit and have some limitations, but it can work.
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Citing projects that succeeded in Europe doesn't help your case because they're not realistic for Worcester.

Sorry, but preservation be damned, this isn't one of the buildings in the city worth saving. Downtown Worcester needs a massive injection of housing and this parcel is a huge piece of that puzzle.
 
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