A 13-story tower, the tallest such structure built in Worcester in more than three decades, is proposed to replace the former Cove Music Hall, a celebrated old music venue on Green Street.
The plan, if approved, would dramatically usher in a new era of development in the Canal District, with more than 300 residential units, nearly 30,000 square feet of food and retail space, and a parking garage with roughly 150 parking spaces. The Worcester Planning Board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the plan May 5.
The development would replace four buildings including the Cove, whose site sold in January for $900,000. Others planned to be demolished to make way for the new project include the site of the Thai Binh Jewelry Store and DT Realty next door to the music venue. The addresses are 85, 89, 99 and 103 Green St., as well as 12 Plymouth St., 5 and 7 Gold St. and part of 62 Washington St., all in the same block between Green Street and the Polar Park baseball stadium.
Song to Get You Through the Week: D-Tension s Kenmore Square is really relatable
If you ve lived in Worcester for a while, it s pretty easy to relate to D-Tension s recent single, “Not My Kenmore Square.” For one, a lot of people from here spent a good deal of their youth in Kenmore Square, and will gladly reminisce about it, but perhaps more immediately, it s easy to relate to the despair over the disappearance of the old Kenmore Square when we re looking at a ball park and other development either devouring or at least endangering many things we love.
“This is not my Kenmore Square,” sings D-Tension, “I used to see The Pixies there/Now the Hotel Commonwealth is where/My childhood went to die.”
Worcesteria: Everybody polka with the WPD!
Worcester Magazine
EVERYBODY POLKA!!! Worcester residents may have noticed a new video making the rounds on Facebook, Pre-Crime Polka, taking aim at the Shotspotter Connect program which uses AI to analyze the data and create a crime forecast for an area. The musical puppet show features Police Chief Sargent, along with police back-up dancers, extolling the virtues of the new program while scolding the audience as potential criminals who are now under surveillance. Performed by artist Eli Ana, it is a catchy tune written by local songwriter and satirical pianist Nat Needle, an activist with Showing Up for Racial Justice. It is clearly a reference to what people of color deal with when interacting with police the assumption that you are or are likely to be a criminal. “When I heard this song, I had a eureka moment,” said Eli Ana. “It so brilliantly captured the attitudes of a lot of people.” According to them, poking fun at peop
The Worcester Red Sox s lease with the city to play for up to 35 years in Polar Park was approved Friday by the Worcester Redevelopment Authority.
The long-anticipated lease agreement commits the WooSox to play at Polar Park for at least 25 years, starting as soon as April. The team is also picking up the entirety of a $17-million cost overrun announced last week, an increase that brings the project s total cost to roughly $157 million.
The authority, a city body that is the technical owner of the ballpark site and gives direct oversight to the project, approved the lease unanimously.
Authority members, like their City Council colleagues, have dismissed concerns about the ballpark s costs or likelihood of being financially prudent for Worcester.
In a press conference with city officials Thursday afternoon, development firm Boston Capital announced plans for a retail and housing development at the site of departing manufacturer Table Talk Pies next to the $132-million Polar Park public baseball stadium in Worcester s Canal District.
At the same event, Worcester developer Churchill James detailed plans for its previously announced bowling alley and residential building about two blocks away on Green Street.
The two projects combined investments are estimated to be nearly $100 million, according to the city. Without the investment of the ballpark, we probably would not have the level of investment discussed Thursday, City Manager Edward Augustus said at the press conference.