In the Know June 2006 Issue

Urban Lifestyles; Combining Vision with Lifestyle Living
Christina Andrianopoulos

There they go again. Worcesterites are proving to be on the same plane as America's 70 million boomers who are setting yet another trend. What trend? The boomer condo market! It's rising faster than fresh bread in a hot oven. Why? The kids are gone and "we've got our life back", say boomers who are leaving their empty-nests in record numbers and heading for greener pastures. Greener as in "fresh start". A place to spread their wings and fly, again. The condo boom is also serving individuals who are downsizing from their “McMansions” in the suburbs. After working all week suddenly having free weekends to luxuriate, or fulfilling leisurely interests, like theatre, shopping and more…seem better than tackling yet another home project that plagues most suburban home owners. Condos are also attracting first-time home buyers who have the opportunity to invest in affordable housing for the price of rent. Condos in the city also can serve as a “Pied a Tier” for individuals who want to have another smaller, convenient second residence when visiting this area. Sounds like Utopia…Urban living Utopia that combines Worcester’s endearing charm of a mixture of big-town hominess with the desire for the kind of style and grace of “downtown” lifestyle living.

Fortunate for Worcester County and Central Massachusetts, the urban lifestyle trend is being realized by visionaries who are arriving in abandoned neighborhoods and buying warehouses and old buildings; Buildings that for the longest time have sat and festered as neighborhood eyesores. Not only do urban lifestyle development projects serve to provide alternative lifestyle living for city dwellers, but the initiatives parallel the economic development of Worcester’s downtown beautification.
Steven Gubb is one of these visionary developers who believes he has his finger on the pulse of the boomer lifestyle and condo market. His first claim to fame is the Biscuit Lofts Condominium off of Shrewsbury Street, where he and his two partners converted the former Sheppard Envelope Company into beautiful state of the art condominiums. Gubb’s personal strive for excellence in all the design elements of the Biscuit Lofts have proved to be his signature brand. Utilizing superior construction materials and design elements normally reserved for costlier homes, and incorporating them with the original design of the old buildings has continued to establish Gubb as a leader in commercial real estate, construction and economic development.

Gubb believes that the continued success of the condominium market is based on several factors. One key component is the lifestyle changes of the upwardly mobile and aging baby boomers, looking for a hassle free lifestyle with the excitement of urban living. Therefore, Gubb’s next project will incorporate spacious condo living with the exclusive amenities that you see in many metropolitan apartment complex living, such as Boston, New York, or Baltimore. Among the amenities being considered are a fitness center, space for social gatherings, retail, a café and tying it all together is a concierge who will be at the beck and call of the residents. The purchase of the Chevalier furniture building on Water Street is planned to be converted into approximately 80 to 90 luxury loft condominiums. By adding all the desired lifestyle amenities, the complex should prove to be a crowning jewel of the budding Canal/Blackstone District.

Gubb feels strongly that without the development of the Canal/Blackstone district and downtown Worcester, no project can stand on its own. “The complex I am proposing to build is only one piece of a larger puzzle for Worcester. I tip my hat to the real pioneers in this neighborhood who took the plunge first including Block 5, SPQR, Castellana’s, and all the new shops and restaurants on Water Street and the surrounding area.” The Canal and Blackstone market place is sprouting with new exciting restaurants, shops, clubs and more. It has been referred to by many as the Worcester “SoHo” district… ”WoCa” maybe?

Celebrating its recent model unit grand opening in mid-May, The University Park Lofts, on 22 Illinois Street are also making a stake in the condo and urban lifestyle boom trend. Owners Kathleen Buckley and Clark University alumnus Brett Levy, transplants to Massachusetts, also are riding the condo and urban lifestyle wave. Buckley and Levy are capitalizing on another factor that skews the scale towards the condo purchasing trend; ownership versus paying rent with the added advantage of appreciation and tax advantages. Even taking taxes out of the equation, in most cases the rent is the same as the mortgage payment. More importantly, Buckley relays that the success in this market trend is the desire to reuse our aged items such as old abandoned buildings, rather than knocking them down and rebuilding them. “This generation of developers and investors desire to renew the vintage/historic features of the many buildings that make up the landscape of downtown Worcester,” relays Buckley. She continues, “We are a “value-trend” society wanting to augment the beauty of the past with state of the art features of today.”

The University Park Lofts are 37 new premium construction lofts in a revitalized vintage 1930s Crompton & Knowles manufacturing building. Sale of the units went on the market with the model grand opening in mid-May. The projected move in date with an aggressive construction schedule is for September, 2006. Buckley relayed that due to the location of the complex, it appeals to a unique target market including, empty nesters downsizing, faculty and students seeking reasonably priced living alternatives to paying rent, as well as approachable, suitable housing for the first time buyers…and of course, the growing numbers of those who desire the lifestyle and diversity of urban “downtown” living.

Probably the most ambitious urban “downtown” project on the radar screen in Worcester is CitySquare. Berkeley Investments, the developer, has embarked on the largest project ever to happen outside of Boston in the history of Massachusetts. Berkeley’s hope is that the mixed use, half-billion project will prove to be the historic renaissance Worcester needs to launch it directly in the 21st Century, while still celebrating its ethnic and cultural diversity. Recently, City Manager Michael O’Brien has completed negotiations with Berkeley, the culmination of many months of complex discussions between the City administration and the developer. The final comprehensive agreement sets forth detailed terms and conditions of this landmark public-private partnership that will transform a highly visible and critical area of the downtown both physically and aesthetically. CitySquare promises to create over two million square feet of mixed-use space which will include residential, office, retail and entertainment uses. Capitalized through complex funding such as the use of state DIF, (District Improvement Financing), as well as private investment capital, the $565 million redevelopment project will involve $92 million in public improvements including a new roadway network and supportive infrastructure system. City and state officials as well as Berkeley are hopeful that the project will generate tremendous economic impact including new jobs and more than $470 million in private investment.

Visionaries see a parallel path of economic vitality combined with quality of life created by a thriving urban downtown environment. The city wide new condominium development boom compliments the trend of those seeking an urban lifestyle that offers entertainment, retail, restaurants and culture. An exciting urban environment will stimulate a high level of pedestrian activity, attract new residents to Worcester as well as encourage many current residents to relocate to the urban “downtown” center. Worcester is positioned to ride the crest of the wave that will resurrect the interest of people to visit as well as live downtown.