The former Hope Lodge at 7 Oak St. in Worcester is set to see new life as student housing, following a $950,000 purchase by an Oxford-based firm.
The three-story, 8,094-square-foot building first built in 1890 was sold by an entity operated by Sevens Hill Foundation of Worcester to Oxford-based entity PHIGI 1 LLC in a deal finalized on Dec. 20, according to Worcester District Registry of Deeds records.
PHIGI 1 intends to turn the property into student housing, according to a Dec. 20 press release from Worcester real estate firm NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs.Â
The residential building at 7 Oak St. was used from 1984 to 2016 as a Hope Lodge location operated by the American Cancer Society, part of a wider nationwide network of temporary housing for cancer patients undergoing treatment. The lodge closed in 2016 due to a significant decrease in occupancy, according to a column published in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette at the time.
Seven Hills Foundation purchased the building to use as staff housing in 2018 for $575,000 from Wayland-based Hampton Properties, according to City of Worcester property records and minutes from a 2018 Licensing Commission meeting. Hampton had purchased the property from the American Cancer Society of New England for $400,000 in 2017.
Mike Barbera of Worcester-based BA Property & Lifestyle Advisors represented the seller, while James Keogh and Lexi Brissette of Worcester-based NAI Glickman Kovago and Jacobs represented the buyer.
The parcel was given a tax assessment value of $455,600 for 2025, according to City property records.Â
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.Â
