WPI’s alleged plan to convert hotels into student housing faces pushback from Worcester leaders

Image | Courtesy of Google Maps The Courtyard Marriott at 72 Grove St. in Worcester is one of two hotel properties being eyed by Worcester Polytechnic Institute for student housing, much to the dismay of the Economic Development Coordinating Council.

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By Eric Casey

An apparent plan by Worcester Polytechnic Institute to buy two hotel properties with the intent of converting them into student housing has upset some of the city’s most prominent business and political leaders.

In a Friday letter addressed to WPI President Grace Wang and WPI Board of Trustees Chair William Fitzgerald, members of Economic Development Coordinating Council of the City of Worcester bemoaned apparent plans by the educational institution to replace the Courtyard Marriott at 72 Grove St. and the Hampton Inn & Suites at 65 Prescott St. with student housing.

The letter states the EDCC members were shocked to learn that the school is apparently looking to purchase and redevelop the properties for student housing, saying school officials had not mentioned in the plans during several meetings in prior months regarding its latest plans for Gateway Park, a formerly blighted area transformed by mixed-use development driven with public funds.

“We were collectively stunned to learn that WPI has been exploring for many months the possibility of acquiring the two hotels in Gateway Park for student housing,” the letter reads. “The subject of acquiring these sites was never mentioned in our numerous meetings or briefings with you or your leadership team.”

WPI declined to comment on the letter when reached by WBJ.

The letter criticizes the potential impact of WPI’s apparent plans to purchase the hotels, saying the move would decrease the city’s hotel room capacity by 25%, remove $758,000 from the City of Worcester’s property tax rolls and $850,6060 from its annual hotel/motel tax revenue, and lead to the elimination of 100 combined jobs at the two sites.

The letter throws shade at the school’s decision not to purchase former Becker College properties in the area to alleviate its apparent student housing crunch.

“Even more perplexing is that WPI’s board and former president had the opportunity to acquire with the closing of Becker College, adjacent to the WPI campus, residence halls that could house over 200 students as well as leases that Becker College held at the time that could have housed another 245 students,” the leader reads. “It is our understanding that WPI could have acquired these properties for approximately $3.8 million.”

Founded in 2011, the Economic Development Coordinating Council is an informal partnership between City government, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Worcester Business Development Corp., and Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives. Meetings of the organization are held behind closed doors, and this publicly-shared letter admonishing WPI leadership is one of the few times in recent years the council has drawn attention to itself.

The letter, signed by Mayor Joseph Petty, City Manager Eric Batista, chamber President and CEO Timothy Murray, WBDC President and CEO Craig Blais, and MBI President and CEO Jon Weaver, warned WPI following through with plans to replace the hotels could harm the potential of future partnerships between it and city leaders.

This is not the first time the potential purchase of valuable Worcester-related properties by a nonprofit entity has raised the ire of local officials over possible tax revenue impacts; a move by UMass Chan Medical School in 2013 to purchase three large commercial buildings in the city led to similar concerns.

Eric Casey is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.