First look: 3 new buildings planned in Downtown Worcester

• Posted by 016 Administrator January 18, 2023 - Filed in News - #Worcester  #MG2  #Salem Square  #Eaton Place  #Mercantile Street  #Portland Street  #Foresight Capital  - 8,899 views

  Projects would add 416 apartments, 50,000 square feet of commercial space

  

  3 multi-story buildings that would change the landscape of Downtown Worcester have been proposed to replace open lots, according to plans made public on the City of Worcester website.

  A pair of the proposed buildings are 7 stories high; the third, 6 stories. Combined, the projects would add 416 apartments and 50,000 square feet of commercial space to the city's inventory.

  The 7-story buildings are proposed at 5 Salem Square, the site of the former Notre Dame des Canadiens Church, and 3 Eaton Place, the site of the former Galleria across Front Street from the 110 Grill.

  Both sites are owned by Foresight Capital LLC, a Providence firm that bought the properties for $5 million from CitySquare II Development Co. in April 2022, according to Worcester Business Journal article. CitySquare II is part of The Hanover Insurance Group.

  The 6-story building is proposed at 35 Portland Street, at the corner of Portland and Myrtle streets. The site is currently a surface lot with 54 parking spots.

  The lot is owned by MG2, which owns multiple buildings in the Grid District between Main and Salem streets. MG2 is also widely rumored to be also eyeing additional apartments on the site of the vacant Denholm Building on Main Street.

  Here's a look at the projects:
  
  

  5 Salem Square

  

  The 7-story building proposed on the site of the former Notre Dame des Canadiens Church would have the most apartments and commercial space of the 3 sites.

  The current architectural plans call for 28,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and 163 apartments on the 6 floors above.

  The plans call for a mix of 1- and 2-bedroom apartments, and 14 of the 163 units to be accessible.

  The building would have a pool, amenity space for residents, a restaurant space of approximately 6,200 square feet and about 20,000 square feet of other retail space.

  The preliminary site plan application was signed on December 20th.

   
  3 Eaton Place

  

  This 7-story building is proposed from the corner of Front and Mercantile streets on the site of the former Galleria.

  It would be built on top of a municipal parking garage.

  The current architectural plans call for 29 studio apartments, 69 1-bedroom and 47 2-bedroom units.

  Plans also call for nearly 19,000 square feet of the retail space to be facing Mercantile Street.

  The preliminary site plan application was also signed on December 20th.
  
  

  35 Portland Street

  

  The 6-story building is proposed for the corner of Portland and Myrtle streets, across from the Printers Building.

  The lot is currently used for parking.

  The current architectural plans do not include a breakdown of apartments by type.

  Plans include a large central courtyard and an innovative, "state-of-the-art two-level semi-automated stacker system."

  
  All 3 proposals will go before the Worcester Planning Board, which next meets on Wednesday, February 1st.
  
  

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