CitySquare Groundbreaking Draws Hundreds
Brandon Butler
U.S. Rep. James McGovern; Gov. Deval Patrick; Hanover CEO Frederick Eppinger; Lt. Gov. Tim Murray and City Manager Michael O'Brien at the CitySquare groundbreaking.
City, state and federal officials joined hundreds of Unum employees Monday morning for the groundbreaking of long-awaited CitySquare development project in downtown Worcester.
The groundbreaking is the result of The Hanover Insurance Group's $70 million investment in the development.
The 22-acre site in the heart of downtown Worcester will be transformed from a 1970s-era shopping center and garage to a new 214,000-square-foot regional headquarters for Unum, the Tennessee-based insurance company.
In June a development arm within Hanover purchased the property from Boston's Berkeley Investments and weeks later Unum inked a 17-year lease on an office building Hanover will build at the site.
The first phase of the project is set to be completed by 2012 and will include the Unum office and an 860-car parking garage. Other work will include improved streetscape and a new roadway connecting Front Street to Major Taylor Boulevard. The construction is expected to support 300 jobs and create 50 new full-time jobs. The state has also invested nearly $11.25 million in economic development grants.
"People often take pride in what they build. Today I'm filled with optimism that we're tearing a building down," said Lt. Gov. Tim Murray, who authored a white paper exploring the reuse of CitySquare while he was mayor of Worcester.
Gov. Deval Patrick, along with U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-Worcester, Kevin McCarthy, CEO of Unum US, and Fred Eppinger, CEO of Hanover also spoke at the event.
Eppinger said Hanover made the more than $70 million investment because the company believes in the leadership of the city, the CitySquare development and because it found a willing partner in Unum.
"Unum didn't just sign a lease, what they did was they invested in the next 20 years in the city," Eppinger said.
Construction and demolition officially began when Patrick and Murray pulled a lever triggering workers to begin drilling a hole through one of the parking garages that will be torn down. The hundreds of people in the crowd waved white Unum flags while music played before and after the event.
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