Worcester plans to acquire three Becker properties for $4.6M

Photo | Grant Welker A home turned into offices at Becker College at 47 Sever St. was built in 1910 and reflects the campus's eclectic architectural styles.

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By Katherine Hamilton

The City of Worcester plans to purchase three properties from the now closed Becker College for $4.6 million and will ask City Council for a loan early next week, said City Manager Edward Augustus at a community meeting in Elm Park neighborhood Thursday night.

The three properties are Becker’s former Health Sciences Education Center, the Weller Academic Center, and the tennis courts.

Plans for the two buildings include English-as-a-second-language classes and transition programs for adults with special needs. There are roughly 200 Worcester residents on the waiting list for ESL classes and 120 special needs students, according to Worcester schools Superintendent Maureen Binienda.

Augustus said the city hopes to turn the tennis courts into a park, but more community meetings will take place to discuss green space options.

“We’ve created a situation where we can be masters of our destinies,” said Augustus during the meeting.

The city recommends the rest of the Becker campus be sold to a developer who has renovated historical buildings throughout Worcester in the past, said Augustus. He stated he could not yet share the developer’s name, but assured residents he was dedicated to creating housing at affordable rates.

In April, developer Russ Haims, the president of Hampton Properties, which has been fixing up grand old homes in Becker’s neighborhood for over a decade and rents out apartments in more than a dozen, told WBJ in an interview he would be interested in purchasing the former Becker dorm buildings if they became available. Haims said renovating old buildings like those from Becker can be costly.

Stephen Rolle, the city's assistant chief development officer, spoke to residents at the end of the meeting about the potential for the neighborhood becoming a local historical district, where all exterior changes would have to be approved by the Worcester Historical Commission.