Historical commission approves Worcester State Hospital demolition

PHOTO/GRANT WELKER The Bryan Building at the former Worcester State Hospital grounds will be demolished.

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By Zachary Comeau

A massive 350,000-square-foot building at the former Worcester State Hospital can be demolished to make way for a biomanufacturing park, the city Historical Commission said Thursday.

The Bryan Building, the largest at the abandoned hospital grounds, will be razed by the Worcester Business Development Corp. with plans to build a 100,000-square-foot pad-ready site for a manufacturing company.

The site has been vacant since 2012, said Julie Holstrom, a senior project manager with the WBDC.

According to Holstrom, the WBDC officially purchased the property from the state earlier this month. Land records show the sale of about $341,500 closing on June 6.

There is concern over the building’s structure, and a recent state structural analysis found the building may be compromised, Holstrom said.

The approval comes less than two weeks after Chinese firm WuXi Biologics announced its plans to build a $60-million biomanufacturing facility at the property, which is set to become the Worcester Biomanufacturing Park.

WuXi is the first tenant to sign on. The company, city, WBDC and state have inked an agreement to see as much as $21 million in public money going to the company.