Great Wall building gets approval for further repair work

Grant Welker The 521 Main St. building, home of the Great Wall Chinese restaurant, was targeted for possible eminent domain by the city last year.

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By Grant Welker

A Main Street building in Worcester where a rear wall partially collapsed in May has gotten city approval for further repair work.

The city's Historical Commission voted unanimously July 6 to waive a demolition delay that otherwise would have hampered how much work could have been done to the building, which was built around 1851, according to the city. Great Wall, a Chinese restaurant on the ground floor, has been closed since the partial wall collapse.

The building at 521 Main St. is one of several downtown buildings the city has eyed for potential eminent domain as part of its sprawling downtown revitalization plan. The building, historically known as the Holbrook-Sawyer Building or Cheney-Laugher Building, has vacant upper floors but is seen by the city as having potential for first-floor commercial space and upper-floor residences.

The Historical Commission ruled on the property despite its chairman, Andrew Shveda, feeling that the commission had little authority on the matter. The building is not in a historic district or on a register of historic buildings but is subject to a one-year demolition delay because of its age. If the building were in a historic district, the commission would have a say on the type of exterior building materials used.

"I really have no purview to deny the waiver," Shveda said. "It would be negligent on our part."

A few neighbors registered concerns with the building, including the Worcester Business Development Corp., which owns property behind the building, concerned that the proposed work at 521 Main St. won't address other structural issues that could affect neighboring buildings.

The city has eyed an adjacent building, 517 Main St., for renovation as part of the downtown revitalization plan. That building, which now hosts a MetroPCS store, is also envisioned for first-floor commercial use and upper-floor residences. Other buildings proposed for potential eminent domain taking for redevelopment include the Midtown Mall at 22 Front St., the Denholm Building at 484 Main St. and The Money Stop building at 526-538 Main St.