UMass Memorial Health on Tuesday purchased the Worcester Business Center after the site was developed by Charles “Chip” Norton, who has filed for bankruptcy.
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UMass Memorial Health on Tuesday purchased the Worcester Business Center after the site was developed by Charles “Chip” Norton, who has filed for bankruptcy.
UMass Memorial Health is exploring an expansion of its administrative offices at the site, said Krisy Lee, UMMH media and public relations manager. The Worcester Business Center is a five-story, 265,000-square-foot office building.
The property at 67 Millbrook St. was purchased from Worcester Business Center LLC, according to the Worcester District Registry of Deeds. The entity was formerly tied to Norton’s Franklin Realty Advisors.
Norton was removed from the entities managing Worcester Business Center in May, amid a slew of lawsuits accusing him and his businesses of unpaid debts and ahead of his June 23 bankruptcy filing. Since then, the entity behind the site had been managed by David Woodbury, the retired president of Worcester printing and engraving firm Woodbury and Co.
Dating back to 1917, the property once was home to the headquarters of Thom McAn Shoe Corp. until that firm closed in 1996. It later became the Worcester Business Center and has undergone extensive improvements in the time since, including a solar canopy for the parking lot and upgrades to the building’s facade.
UMass Memorial Health is already a tenant at the building, along with the nonprofit Elder Services of Worcester Area.
WBC purchased the site for $10.44 million in 2007. The property has a 2026 assessed value of $19.28 million, according to City of Worcester property records.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries. 
