Downtown Worcester Building Set For Auction
Photo/Christina H. Davis
The building at the intersection of Commercial and Front Streets in downtown Worcester is slated for auction.
Just three years after landing a $2 million loan from MassDevelopment, the Winsor Building at 250 Commercial St. and 50 Front St. in Worcester is scheduled to be auctioned off.
According to a notice from Daniel J. Flynn & Co. Inc., the Quincy firm handling the foreclosure auction, the Winsor building was to be sold to the highest bidder this morning at 11 a.m. But as of this morning, the auction had been postponed until Dec. 17, Flynn & Co. said.
The nearly 54,000-square-foot downtown building is home to McFaddens restaurant, several professional offices, Citadel Broadcasting, the WXLO radio station and Eric’s La Patisserie Café, among others.
The building is across Front Street from the Worcester Common and is owned by Shawn Michael Kelly through Winsor Management Inc. Kelly and local developer Vaios Theodorakos bought the building, in 2004 for about $1.2 million, according to Worcester County land records.
Shortly thereafter, Theodorakos sold his 50 percent stake in the building to Kelly.
Commercial real estate brokers familiar with the property estimated that the building is about 35 percent vacant. A lack of parking, despite being within walking distance of the Front Street garage nearby, presents challenges to prospective tenants, brokers said.
According to Janet Hookailo, a MassDevelopment spokesman, the agency loaned Winsor $2 million on Nov. 20, 2006 to refinance and improve the property.
“We have been working with the owner of Winsor Management Inc. for some time, eight or nine months, to try to find a resolution to financing issues related to the building,” Hookailo said. “But we haven’t been able to reach a resolution and our only recourse was to file for foreclosure.”
MassDevelopment loaned Winsor the $2 million under its New Markets Loan Fund, which targets low-income commercial areas.
There was some word Monday that Tuesday’s auction may not happen, and Hookailo said, “I understand that things could change.”
Michael Moschos, an attorney with an office in the building, said Kelly was in his office recently and said the auction would not take place. “The latest word I have from the building owner is that he’s made an accommodation with his bank,” Moschos said.
However, Flynn & Co. said this morning that the auction had simply been pushed back a month and would be held at 11 a.m. on Dec. 17, conducted by company president Paul Talkowski.
Hookailo confirmed the postponement and said, “We are continuing to work with the owner.”
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