Four new plans for vacant Worcester courthouse
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The rendering from OnSite Builders & Development of Westwood shows the extent of the Lincoln Square Courthouse Residences proposal to the city.
A $35-million proposal for the former Worcester County Courthouse calls for 300 market-rate apartments in two new buildings and a reuse of the 1800s court building with office and retail space.
The proposal would bring new life to Lincoln Square, which has sat mostly dormant with the vacant courthouse and Worcester Memorial Auditorium.
“This is going to energize Lincoln Square,” said Peter Heaney, the owner of Onsite Builders & Development of Westwood. “It's like a sleeping giant.”
City choosing between four
Onsite Builders was one of four developers expressing interested to the city for reusing the 4.3-acre courthouse site at Main and Highland streets. The others were Vision Development, which created the Edge at Union Station residences, Trinity Financial, a large Boston developer, and Israel Real Estate of Worcester.
Vision, based in Pennsylvania, has several student-focused housing projects in its portfolio, including one under development Lowell, along with office buildings and a science building at Villanova University. Trinity Financial has built larger residential projects in Boston, New Bedford and Lowell.
City officials will review the proposals in the coming weeks and brief City Manager Edward Augustus on each one before deciding how to move forward, city spokesman John Hill said.
Pitching the public
Onsite Builders & Development don’t have the site yet, but aren't waiting on pitching a major redevelopment to transform the north edge of Main Street.
Plans for the Lincoln Square Courthouse Residences, as its project is called, call for a glass ceiling over the courthouse's interior courtyard, which would make the utilitarian space usable. Two modern buildings, six stories and 10 stories each, would rise behind the building by Harvard Street.
The project has financing in place, and construction could start as soon as permitting is in place, Heaney said.
Developer and Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee Rob Branca said he signed on as a consultant for the Lincoln Square Courthouse Residences project as soon as he saw the proposal.
“We said, 'How could we not be involved?’” he said.
Branca's Branded Management Group has developed Worcester buildings, including the Harrington Corner building at Main and Front streets across from City Hall, and adjoining buildings on Shrewsbury Street that host Volturno and Sweet restaurants and Wormtown Brewery.
Courthouse redevelopment, part 2
A New Hampshire firm, Brady Sullivan Properties, bought the property from the city in 2015 for $1.2 million, but backed out last December.
The nearly 250,000 square-foot Worcester County Courthouse has been vacant for a decade, since its replacement opened a few blocks down Main Street. The city bought the courthouse from the state for $1 in 2014 and spent $3 million on environmental cleanup.
The oldest part of the courthouse, the Greek Revival building on Main Street, was built in 1843 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. An addition on the Harvard Street side of the property was built in 1954.
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