After purchasing two office buildings near Worcester’s Washington Square in April, Chacharone Properties plans to demolish one building and convert the other into apartments.
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After purchasing two office buildings near Worcester’s Washington Square in April, Chacharone Properties plans to demolish one building and convert the other into apartments.
Chacharone has filed a building demolition delay waiver application with the Worcester Historical Commission, seeking permission to demolish a three-story brick building at 10 Washington Square dating back to the 1880s.
Known as the Cooney Block, the building is included in the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, or MACRIS, but is not listed on the state register or the National Register of Historic Places. A 1992 National Register nomination included in the property's MACRIS file suggests the building is eligible for listing but that additional information was required.
Buildings subject to a pending application or that are deemed eligible by the Worcester Historical Commission need approval to receive a demolition delay waiver, according to the City’s website.
City rules require a delay of one year before a historical building is demolished, unless a waiver is obtained.Â
The Cooney Block was built in 1883 and originally used as apartments, according to the application materials available through MACRIS. By the 1970s, it had been converted to commercial uses. The building was vacant in 1992, but was utilized as additional offices by Saint Vincent Medical Group prior to its sale.
Chacharone’s WHC application describes the Cooney Block as being in average to poor condition.
The building Chacharone plans to turn into multifamily housing is a four-story, 44,180-square-foot structure, most recently used as administrative offices for Saint Vincent Medical Group and MetroWest Physician Services.Â
Both buildings sit on the same parcel, which Chacharone purchased from Saint Vincent for $1.9 million in April.Â
Chacharone did not respond to requests for comment.
The planned apartments are directly next to a parcel where Fall River-based First Bristol Corp. is planning a 105-room hotel.
The company’s application for the demolition delay waiver is set to be heard at WHC’s July 23 meeting.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.Â
