Developers behind 105-unit proposal at former Fairway Beef site request third permit extension, citing costs

Image | RODE Architects of Boston, as submitted to City of Worcester A rendering of the proposed nine-story high-rise slated for 44 Grafton St. in Worcester

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By Eric Casey

The developer behind the proposal to construct a 105-unit apartment building at the former site of the Fairway Beef meat market in Worcester is seeking another permit extension for the project, the third time an extension request has been made since the building was first proposed in 2022.

AKROS Development, the Boston-based firm led by Worcester native Zak Kiritsy, will be back in front of the Worcester Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday to request an extension to the special permit and variances originally approved on Sept. 12, 2022. AKROS previously applied for and received extensions in October 2023 and March.

AKROS is seeking to delay the project due to challenges with respect to labor and supply chain issues and a lack of access to financing and capital. The capital issues are related to inflation, interest rates, and an overall slowdown in the commercial real estate market, according to a letter submitted to the zoning board on behalf of AKROS by Joshua Lee Smith, a partner at Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey.

The previous March extension request cited similar problems, but AKROS is hopeful it will be able to commence construction in 2025, according to the letter.

The project calls for the construction of a nine-story building, with 1,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor and 105 apartment units above. The building would feature 72 parking spaces in a ground floor garage, utilizing a semi-automated parking system to stack and store more vehicles than could otherwise fit.

A number of proposed Worcester apartments have been scaled back, delayed, or canceled in the past two years, as residential construction in Greater Worcester fell to a 10-year low in 2023. Plans for a 218-unit building on Shrewsbury Street were axed in July, and the developers who proposed a 145-unit building at 3 Eaton Place are now looking to sell the property.

Eric Casey is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.