Developer pitches 11-story, mixed-use building for Downtown Worcester

A Springfield-based developer is proposing an 11-story building for the site of a Downtown Worcester parking lot, featuring 139 residential units and a pharmacy on the ground floor.

The proposal, brought before the Worcester Planning Board on Feb. 5, is being pitched by HHM Cube Properties, a firm which bought the parking lot and an adjacent three-story office building for $3.2 million in November. 

Planned amenities for the site include a first-floor indoor pool and an outdoor deck and fitness area on the roof, according to application materials submitted to the planning board.

The building will include studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments. Located in a business, general zone and downtown parking subarea of the Commercial Corridors Overlay District, the project does not have to meet mandatory off-street minimum parking requirements. The developers plan on leasing spots in the nearby Pearl-Elm Municipal Garage, a public parking facility with 819 spaces.

The proposed site of the building was once home to C.C. Lowell, a Worcester-based arts supply store which has operated in the city since 1852, according to Michelle Smith, the City of Worcester’s assistant chief development office, who said this during the Feb. 5 planning board meeting.

The project will utilize modular construction and is expected to be completed approximately 14 months after breaking ground. 

The planning board voted 4-0 to approve the site plan and special permit relating to the project. 

Mark Borenstein of Boston-based law firm Prince Lobel Tye is representing HHM Cube for this project. 

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said Prince Lobel Tye is based in Worcester. The firm has a Worcester office but is headquartered in Boston. 

Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.