🔒To kickstart redevelopment, Worcester takes ownership of old RMV site from state

The Worcester Redevelopment Authority has taken over ownership of the former Registry of Motor Vehicles property at 611 Main St., with the goal of facilitating redevelopment of the site through a request-for-proposals expected later this year.  WRA voted unanimously to approve the acquisition of the property in its October meeting, according to video of the […]

The Worcester Redevelopment Authority has taken over ownership of the former Registry of Motor Vehicles property at 611 Main St., with the goal of facilitating redevelopment of the site through a request-for-proposals expected later this year.  WRA voted unanimously to approve the acquisition of the property in its October meeting, according to video of the proceedings. The move comes after a state RFP in 2022, which was unsuccessful. The property’s transfer was finalized on Jan. 8, according to Worcester District Registry of Deeds records.  This is the first time WRA has utilized its power under state law to acquire and attempt to redevelop a single-property project dealing with blight, said WRA Chair Michael Angelini, with past WRA efforts involving urban renewal plans covering a wider geography than just one site.  Peter Dunn, chief development officer for the City, compared the deal during the October WRA meeting to the transfer of ownership of the former Worcester County Courthouse, now the site of the 118-unit Courthouse Lofts.  That property was transferred from the state to the City of Worcester in 2014, according to municipal property records, before the site was acquired and redeveloped into apartments by Boston-based Trinity Financial. The transfer of the RMV property to local authorities will help ensure redevelopment aligns with City priorities, including its Downtown Urban Revitalization and Housing Production plans, Dunn said in October. It will also be quicker than attempting to add the property to existing urban renewal efforts.  Dunn’s comments did not rule out non-housing uses, but adding to Downtown’s existing housing stock is a priority for the City.

“We're trying to urgently and expeditiously address the housing crisis in the commonwealth, utilizing the powers and the tools that we have in this partnership with the state presents a unique opportunity,” Dunn said.  The minimum bid price will be at least $1.5 million. To receive compensation for handing over the site to WRA, the state would receive the first $1.5 million of an eventual sale to a developer, with the City splitting any additional sale proceeds with the state.  The 2026 assessed value of the property is $2.93 million, according to municipal property records. As it sits, the three-acre site holds a 13,330-square-foot, single-story building constructed in 1990, along with a 41,000-square-foot parking lot.  There would likely be some carrying costs for the City to maintain the site as it works to roll out the RFP, which Dunn said he expects to be published in the first half of this year.  The WRA will conduct community engagement as it prepares the RFP, and Dunn hopes WRA will receive multiple proposals from interested developers. He expects the building to be demolished as part of redevelopment.

The transfer of ownership of the RMV sites comes after the state had attempted to decide the future of the site through a 2022 request for proposals. The property had been set to be acquired for $2.5 million by Washington D.C. developer The Menkiti Group, but that transaction did not end up being finalized.  The RMV at the site closed in 2022, with operations moving to the shopping plaza at 50 Southwest Cutoff, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.  In the meantime, the property had been used as a temporary winter shelter for homeless individuals. The City elected not to use the site for this use again this winter, opening a shelter at 50 Oriol Dr. instead, according to a City press release in December.  Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.