GoVenture Capital Group is looking to develop the former site of a warehouse near Downtown Worcester into a 74-unit apartment building.The Worcester-based development firm is seeking to construct the five-story building on 0.4 acres of land at the intersection of Chandler Street and Irving Street. The parcels formerly held a four-story warehouse and a retail building, but both were demolished in 2025.GoVenture is seeking Worcester Zoning Board of Appeals relief from setback requirements. Zoning rules require a five-foot setback, but GoVenture is seeking a one-foot setback for the building, saying the required distance would reduce the size of units and hallways. [Want more real estate news? Sign up for Real Estate Insider.]GoVenture is interested in developing the site because of its close proximity to the Hanover Theatre and the broader Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District, GoVenture Vice President Harold Reader wrote in a Thursday email to WBJ. “This site sits at a key vertex connecting Downtown Worcester, Polar Park, Chandler Street, and the Main South neighborhood, yet it has remained underutilized and undeveloped for years,” Reader wrote.Reader said the development will be called The Hovey, a name meant to honor Hovey Laundry, a laundry facility operating at the site from 1929 to 1956. Plans call for 54 one-bedroom units, 10 two-bedroom units, and eight studios. The building will feature 10 affordable units, set to 60% of area median income. Planned amenities include a gym, community space, and an outdoor recreation area.The site is owned by Benedict Canyon Equities, a Los Angeles-based firm. That company owns several residential and commercial buildings nearby, including the 6Hundred, a 196-unit residential tower about 350 feet from GoVenture’s proposed building.Benedict Canyon purchased two of the parcels involved, 27 Chandler St. and 53 Irving St., for a combined $2 million in 2020, according to City of Worcester property records. The third lot, 47 Irving St., was sold to Framingham-based entity VTT Management for $505,000 in 2012, but has Benedict Canyon listed as a co-owner.The site of the proposed apartments in 2011 (left) and on Thursday. IMAGE COURTESY OF GOOGLE MAPS, PHOTO | ERIC CASEYGoVenture is working with The Michaels Organization in New Jersey to complete construction on The Benjamin on Franklin, a 364-unit apartment complex at 274 Franklin St. and has proposed a 250-unit, mixed-use complex at 525 Hartford Turnpike in Shrewsbury. The Benjamin on Franklin is expected to be completed this October, according to real estate data firm CoStar. GoVenture’s application for its planned Chandler Street development is set to be heard by the ZBA at its July 20 meeting. Pending local approval, Reader expects construction to begin on The Hovey in early 2027 and wrapped up by the second quarter of 2028.The three sites received a combined 2026 assessment of $639,300, according to municipal property records. Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.
