Former Vocational School Set For A Makeover | Quincy firm brings rehab experience to Worcester
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SHOP CLASS: Acorn Management of Quincy plans to convert the former Worcester Vocational School and Boys and Girls Club into market rate housing.
About a year ago Quincy developer David Scherer went on a guided tour of Worcester's downtown, led by MassDevelopment and the city's economic development office.
One particular piece of property on Salisbury Street in the city’s Lincoln Square district caught Scherer’s attention: The former Worcester Vocational School and Boys and Girls Club.
“It’s a historic, beautiful building with so much potential,” said Scherer, director of development for Acorn Management Co. in Quincy.
It’s just off Route 9 and Interstate 290, within walking distance of downtown and Main Street and adjacent to the multi-million-dollar Gateway Park biotech development — what Scherer described as a “perfect location.”
Acorn negotiated a deal to purchase the property and compiled plans to convert the 56,000-square-foot building into 28 market-rate apartments. The project has since received the blessing of the city’s zoning and planning boards and now just needs a building permit to begin construction, which Scherer said could start as early as next month.
“This is our first foray into Worcester, and we’re very bullish on the city,” Scherer said.
Rock Solid
Scherer, 72, joined Acorn Management a few years ago, but has been doing commercial and residential real estate development for decades. His business partner is Stephen Ricciardi, whose father started a granite firm in 1945. For decades the company specialized in masonry restoration and in the 1980s began development projects, mostly in their hometown of Quincy.
In Quincy, the company owns Clipper Apartments, a 130-residential unit and 80-boat marina complex, as well as Captain’s Cove, a 300-condominium unit complex with a 200-slip marina. Ricciardi Cos. and The Ricciardi Group are other names the company has gone by.
More recently Scherer has begun to explore opportunities in new areas though in the state’s Gateway Cities, which have been designated by the state as priority development sites. They’re typically larger urban areas that have substantial vacant buildings and lots. Other Gateway Cities in addition to Worcester include Brockton, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, New Bedford, Pittsfield and Springfield.
Acorn’s first venture into a Gateway City was in New Bedford, where the firm set its eyes on a former mill in the city’s downtown. When Patrick Sullivan, New Bedford’s community development direct, first heard about Scherer’s development plans in the south shore community, he was a little bit skeptical.
In the middle of a recession a developer who had no history with the city was willing to come in, invest millions of dollars, build a project in-house and sell residential apartments at market rates.
Perhaps adding to the uncertainty of the development was the building Scherer was proposing to renovate.
Displayed prominently along a thoroughfare that runs through New Bedford’s downtown, the redevelopment of the Wamsutta Mills building has been a top priority for Sullivan and other New Bedford officials for years. It has a rich history of being an industrial powerhouse at the turn of the century, producing bed sheets and other linens.
“It’s strategically located at the edge of a four-lane highway that runs directly through the city along the waterfront,” Sullivan said. “We have long positioned this particular location as being a prime transit-oriented development.”
But when he learned that Scherer was interested about 15 months ago, Sullivan’s excitement was tempered.
“A lot of people questioned if he would be able to do it, especially without any of the affordable housing subsidies most projects need,” he said.
Many developers rely on Chapter 40B, the state’s affordable housing law, to expedite approval of projects and make the units more attractive to potential residents.
So what was the key? Sullivan said two major factors contributed to the success. First of all, the project qualified for historic tax credits from the state. Run through the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the program can provide grants of up to 20 percent of the cost of rehabilitating buildings that are on the state’s historic registry, such as The Lofts at Wamsutta Mills.
Secondly, Scherer and Acorn Management were able to do the construction work in house, which helped them control costs.
Now, the redevelopment of Wamsutta Mills is almost complete and Sullivan said he’s been pleased with the results.
“Judging on what they’ve undertaken, we’ve been quite impressed,” Sullivan said.
Now, Scherer has set his sights on the Voc School in Worcester.
By the end of the month Scherer hopes the paperwork finalizing the sale of the building will be complete. He declined to disclose the budget on the project.
Soon afterwards he hopes to begin work renovating the property into the 28 market-rate apartments. It should take about eight months to do the construction, and because it’s indoors, crews can work through the winter and plan to have it ready by next summer.
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