Project Spotlight 2: A Project Of Lofty Ambitions
Will CitySquare be Worcester's economic savior?
If there's a development project in Central Massachusetts with a lot of high hopes pinned to it, it's got to be the $563 million CitySquare project in downtown Worcester.
It's been trumpeted in the press as the largest urban renewal project in Massachusetts history, and it's number two on the Worcester Business Journal list of largest construction projects in Central Massachusetts, behind only Bristol-Myers Squibb's $750 million manufacturing plant development in Devens.
The proposed site of the project is now home to the largely vacant Common Outlets. Berkeley Investments, the Boston-based developer, bought the Common Outlets in 2004. The sprawling complex was originally built in 1971 as the Galleria Mall. It was redeveloped into the Worcester Common Fashion Outlets in 1994 and in 1996 the name of the two-level, 126 outlet center, was changed to Worcester Common Outlets.
Taxing Times
In addition to partnering with the City of Worcester - which has pledged tax deferments for the project - Berkeley has also formed a joint venture with Greenwich, Conn.-based Starwood Capital on the project. Starwood specializes in real estate investments on behalf of select private and institutional investor partners.
Turner Construction of New York is the construction company for the project, while Arrowstreet Inc. of Somerville has been enlisted as the architecture firm.
A development agreement on the project is in place, but many in the city have been awaiting the wrecking ball to take down the former Common Outlets. However, that wrecking ball has yet to arrive, as the developer enlists the help of real estate brokers - Kelleher & Sadowsky in Worcester and Jones Lang LaSalle in Boston - to line up tenants. As part of the city's development agreement, Berkeley must have a trigger tenant or tenants willing to lease 275,000 square feet before demolition can begin.
The CitySquare proposal includes creating a mixed-use development on a 20-acre parcel. The plan calls for 300,000 square feet of retail, entertainment and food and beverage services, 500,000 square feet of office, clinical and life sciences space and 650 housing units, including "active adult" living. Berkeley has also inked a deal with Hollywood Theaters of Portland, Ore., to open a 12-screen, 2,000-seat theater.
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