May 2, 2007
Breaking News: Planning commission to lease Union Station second floor
By Matthew L. Brown
The Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission has leased the entire second floor of Worcester's Union Station.
The commission has agreed to a 10-year lease with two five-year options to follow, according to city officials at an announcement of the agreement at Union Station.
The quasi-public commission will pay the Worcester Redevelopment Authority, which owns the station, market rate, about $15-per-square-foot, for the 8,500-square-foot space, according to commission and city officials.
According to Michael V. O'Brien, Worcester city manager, the lease guarantees the city $100,000 in new revenue from the station.
The commission is funded by the state and federal governments.
The station is expected to run a $500,000 operating deficit for the 2007 fiscal year, O'Brien said.
City councilman Michael Perotto said the commission's lease helps "to ensure the debt service, and ensure that we can break even" on the station.
City Councilman Frederick C. Rushton said, "consistent, recurring revenues; that's what the administration expects."
The commission is leasing what was once a jazz club on one end of the station, what is now the FDR American Heritage Museum on the other end, and a wide hall that connects the two.
The hall overlooks the station's main floor on one side and Washington Square on the other.
The only part of the second floor the commission is not leasing is the public area where people pick up the train.
Suzanne LaPage, the commission's regional services manager, said the commission plans to turn the former jazz club into a large, high-tech conference facility for use by the commission and perhaps other organizations.
The rest of the space is expected to be office space for commission employees. The FDR museum's lease expires July 31. O'Brien said the museum would be relocated with help from the city's economic development division.
LaPage said the commission currently employs 20, expects to expand to just over 20 in the coming weeks, and could employ as many as 30 once it makes the move to the station.
The commission's current office at 35 Harvard Street is about 6,500 square-feet. Its 10-year lease there is set to expire.
"We'll expand to about 30 employees as we build broader planning programs," LaPage said. "We looked at some other space that met our needs as well, but this was the most public."
LaPage said the commission could be settled into its new offices by fall or early winter.
About 15,000 square-feet of the 40,000 square-feet of available space at the station is leased, O'Brien said. He said the city is in negotiations with a prospective market-rate tenant from outside Worcester for another 12,000 square-feet. O'Brien said that deal could be done within the next couple of months.
City commercial real estate broker Glickman Kovago & Co. handles leasing at the property for the city.
The commission has agreed to a 10-year lease with two five-year options to follow, according to city officials at an announcement of the agreement at Union Station.
The quasi-public commission will pay the Worcester Redevelopment Authority, which owns the station, market rate, about $15-per-square-foot, for the 8,500-square-foot space, according to commission and city officials.
According to Michael V. O'Brien, Worcester city manager, the lease guarantees the city $100,000 in new revenue from the station.
The commission is funded by the state and federal governments.
The station is expected to run a $500,000 operating deficit for the 2007 fiscal year, O'Brien said.
City councilman Michael Perotto said the commission's lease helps "to ensure the debt service, and ensure that we can break even" on the station.
City Councilman Frederick C. Rushton said, "consistent, recurring revenues; that's what the administration expects."
The commission is leasing what was once a jazz club on one end of the station, what is now the FDR American Heritage Museum on the other end, and a wide hall that connects the two.
The hall overlooks the station's main floor on one side and Washington Square on the other.
The only part of the second floor the commission is not leasing is the public area where people pick up the train.
Suzanne LaPage, the commission's regional services manager, said the commission plans to turn the former jazz club into a large, high-tech conference facility for use by the commission and perhaps other organizations.
The rest of the space is expected to be office space for commission employees. The FDR museum's lease expires July 31. O'Brien said the museum would be relocated with help from the city's economic development division.
LaPage said the commission currently employs 20, expects to expand to just over 20 in the coming weeks, and could employ as many as 30 once it makes the move to the station.
The commission's current office at 35 Harvard Street is about 6,500 square-feet. Its 10-year lease there is set to expire.
"We'll expand to about 30 employees as we build broader planning programs," LaPage said. "We looked at some other space that met our needs as well, but this was the most public."
LaPage said the commission could be settled into its new offices by fall or early winter.
About 15,000 square-feet of the 40,000 square-feet of available space at the station is leased, O'Brien said. He said the city is in negotiations with a prospective market-rate tenant from outside Worcester for another 12,000 square-feet. O'Brien said that deal could be done within the next couple of months.
City commercial real estate broker Glickman Kovago & Co. handles leasing at the property for the city.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments