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April 24, 2021

Tallest new Worcester building since 1990 proposed for Cove site

Photo | Grant Welker The former Cove Music Hall, right, on Green Street in Worcester and the buildings at left would be knocked down for a proposed 13-story apartment tower.
By Grant Welker

A 13-story tower, the tallest such structure built in Worcester in more than three decades, is proposed to replace the former Cove Music Hall, a celebrated old music venue on Green Street.

The plan, if approved, would dramatically usher in a new era of development in the Canal District, with more than 300 residential units, nearly 30,000 square feet of food and retail space, and a parking garage with roughly 150 parking spaces. The Worcester Planning Board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the plan May 5.

The development would replace four buildings including the Cove, whose site sold in January for $900,000. Others planned to be demolished to make way for the new project include the site of the Thai Binh Jewelry Store and DT Realty next door to the music venue. The addresses are 85, 89, 99 and 103 Green St., as well as 12 Plymouth St., 5 and 7 Gold St. and part of 62 Washington St., all in the same block between Green Street and the Polar Park baseball stadium.

[Related: Polar Park wrapping up construction as first WooSox game nears]

The project, with roughly 380,000 square feet in total, is proposed by an entity registered to Harry DiLeo, Thomas Keane and Christopher Archambault. The team, which bought the Cove, previously said it hoped to have a bowling alley as part of the project but it wasn't immediately clear in filings with the city if that component remains.

Image | WBJ
Of 14 properties added in early 2020 to an expanded special taxing district to help the City of Worcester pay its share of the Polar Park baseball stadium, four are slated to be part of a new residential and retail project: parcels 5-9 above.

The applicants are seeking definitive site plan approval and for minor zoning changes. If built as proposed, the project would be Worcester's tallest building since the 24-story Sky Mark Tower, since rebranded as The 6Hundred, was built in 1990.

[Related: Trio of Canal District businessmen buy three sites for $1.8M]

The Cove redevelopment would take place in a special taxing district set up to help pay back the city's costs of the $160-million Polar Park. New tax revenue from surrounding sites will be set aside to pay off the city's bonds. It is also located in an opportunity zone, a federal program that gives tax incentives to developers in certain areas.

The project is one of a few to be planned outside Polar Park, which will open for its first Worcester Red Sox game May 11. Others include a planned residential development on the site of Table Talk Pies' facility on Kelley Square after operations are moved to a new building nearing completion in South Worcester. A mixed-use development with offices, apartments, retail and a hotel, which has faced construction delays, is also planned for across Madison Street from the ballpark.

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8 Comments

Anonymous
April 25, 2021
I wonder if Worcester Planning will perform due diligence, as is the case in Boston, examining sun angles, blockage and shadow canyon effects on green street and the canal district? I applaud development in the area; Worcester certainly needs housing when affordable. But it also has to be sensibly and sustainably designed and implemented.
Anonymous
April 25, 2021
I encourage more Canal District development, but I’m not sure that a new 13 story high rise is appropriate to the neighborhood, height-wise or architecturally. What kind of shadow would be cast?
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