Research Bureau: Worcester Increasingly Vacant
The number of vacant residential buildings in Worcester increased 84 percent between 2007 and 2008, according to the Worcester Regional Research Bureau Inc.
Despite a downtown office occupancy rate of nearly 90 percent, Worcester tax base growth in the middle part of the decade has been all but erased by the suffering real estate and jobs markets and by the city's two-tiered tax structure, according to the nonprofit bureau's "Benchmarking Economic Development In Worcester: 2008" report.
The report notes that the city's total tax base expanded by 44 percent between 2004 and 2008, primarily due to skyrocketing residential real estate values, which increased by 49 percent in the city. Over the same period, commercial and industrial property values increased by 27 percent.
Now, average assessments for single family homes are falling, residential property owners are responsible for 81 percent of the city's tax burden and the city's tax rate for commercial and industrial property is more than twice the rate for residential property.
The bureau notes that private investment in new construction in Worcester decreased by 11 percent in 2008 compared to 2007.
Between 2001 and 2007, Worcester lost more than 2,200 jobs. As of this month, there are 356 vacant residential buildings and 76 vacant commercial buildings in the city. There are also 1,640 properties "in varying states of foreclosure" in the city, according to the bureau.
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