Sprinkler Factory owner seeks special district to allow for redevelopment of former arts gallery site
Photo | Google Maps
38 Harlow St., Worcester
New Street Realty Corp. of Worcester is requesting the City of Worcester establish an adaptive reuse overlay district for two Sprinkler Factory properties, which served as the former home of a nonprofits arts gallery.
Approval would clear the way for redevelopment of the properties at New Street’s properties at 38 Harlow St. and 24 New St. in Worcester for residential or commercial use. They are currently zoned for manufacturing, according to documents filed with the Worcester Planning Board.
The Planning Board will have a public hearing on the matter at its Aug. 31 meeting, according to the Planning Board website.
The 211,000-square-foot building at 38 Harlow, known as The Sprinkler Factory, has been home to a variety of small businesses and nonprofits over the past few years from manufacturing and construction businesses to a nonprofit arts gallery. The property is assessed by the City of Worcester for $1.4 million.
In September 2021, tenants were issued notices to vacate by the City of Worcester related to a fire safety compliance dispute between New Street Realty Corp. and the City. The matter was later dropped by the city.
When reached by phone on Monday, New Street Realty Corp. declined comment.
After the Sprinkler Factory Art Gallery closed down, the former directors – Birgit Straehle and Luis Antonio Fraire – bought The White Room events space in Worcester’s Canal District, with an eye toward potentially adding an artistic element.
An adaptive reuse overlay district allows the city to rezone a specific property that is vacant or underutilized paving the way for redevelopment, without rezoning the entire neighborhood. It can ease dimensional requirements and parking minimums, according to a 2021 Worcester Regional Research Bureau report, “Worcester’s Zones, Districts, and Overlays.”
Other developers in Worcester have used an AROD to enable redevelopment of former industrial properties such as the former Sargent Card Building at 300 Southbridge St. and the former self-storage facility near Polar Park at 90 Lamartine St.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments