A longtime Worcester landlord is looking to convert a 19th-century warehouse adjacent to the Albion rooming house into 32 affordable apartments. Michael O’Rourke is seeking approval from the Worcester Zoning Board of Appeals to convert a five-story warehouse at 1 Jackson St. into apartments, a move the application materials say will help address the city’s housing crisis.O’Rourke has a history of tackling difficult properties in Central Massachusetts, serving as a receiver for buildings facing widespread issues. He’s a principal with Worcester County Management Corp. and owns dozens of properties in the city.[Want more real estate news? Sign up for Real Estate Insider.]O’Rourke is the owner of the Albion, a building next to the proposed apartment site that had gained a reputation for health and safety code violations. O’Rourke purchased the Albion in 2016 for $420,000, embarking on a campaign to clean up the building by tightening rules for tenants and taking a more hands-on approach than previous owners, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. O’Rourke purchased 1 Jackson St. for $750,000 in October 2023. His plans for the site involve long-term rental apartments rather than boarding rooms. Plans call for a total of 41 bedrooms, all of them reserved for tenants making 60% or less of the area median income. The building would comprise nine studios, 14 one-bedroom apartments, and nine two-bedroom apartments.A rendering of the building's redevelopment into apartments. RENDERING COURTESY OF ACROPOLIS DESIGN CONSULTANTS VIA WORCESTER ZONING BOARD OF APPEALSO’Rourke said he’s considering a fifth-floor walkway connecting the building to the Albion, allowing emergency services to use the elevator in 1 Jackson St. to better access disabled tenants in the boarding house. The project is requesting a variance to the City of Worcester’s off-street parking requirements, seeking to have 20 parking spots compared to the required 32. The application says use of the building as a warehouse is no longer practical and the parking variance is needed to make the residential use of the building viable.The 30,684-square-foot warehouse dates back to the 1880s. The parcel has a 2026 assessed value of $309,400, according to City of Worcester property records.
Acropolis Design Consultants in Worcester provided plans for the application, with O’Rourke being represented by Worcester attorney Donald O'Neil.
The project will be heard at the ZBA’s June 8 meeting, the same meeting the board is set to consider a 50-unit apartment project on Providence Street.Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.
