Historic Chandler St. building faces demolition
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The Hovey Laundry building on Chandler Street
The historic Hovey Laundry building on Chandler Street in Worcester, which abuts the recently sold $3-million Vendome and Saint Ives apartments, may be demolished depending on approval from the Worcester Historical Commission.
The 35,000-square-foot building at 27 Chandler St. was originally constructed in 1890, with additions through the early 20th century when it was used as a steam laundry facility, according to documents included with the demolition application. In the late 70s, the property was sold to Edward A. Dickie & Sons, a moving company owned by Mary O’Connell, whose sign still hangs on the building.
After a foreclosure, the property was sold twice before Los Angeles real estate firm Benedict Canyon Equities bought it for $1 million in January 2020.
Benedict Canyon submitted a request for demolition in October to be considered by the commission at Wednesday’s meeting. The company, which specializes in multifamily real estate, bought Worcester's tallest residential building, the Sky Mark Tower, for $29 million in 2019 and has since added several properties surrounding the building.
Benedict Canyon Equities is owned by Bob Hart, an alumnus from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
In the demolition application, the firm stated there were no economical uses of the existing structure. The building bears red and white “X” markers, denoting to first responders the building is unsafe to enter in case of fire.
The property is currently assessed at about $353,000 by the City of Worcester.
Earlier last month, the Vendome and Saint Ives apartment buildings at 17-19 Chandler St. were sold for $3.4 million by the Menkiti Group. The 44-unit complex was bought by a pair of real estate agents from Wayland.
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