- Odd Fellows Building next to the old Mart finished recently
- Standish Building on Main Street finished recently
- Burwick under construction
- May Street old Mattress building under construction
- Winfield Street razed waiting for monies
These are just the big ones. The worst part about this is that I can not think of any private dollar projects within this circle of projects. In case I have not said this already we need to stop building more low income housing.
18 comments:
1. "IT (Piedmont [and Main?]) IS AN AWESOME AREA" says Mr Patton.
Paulie, Ya Wonder if he'd ever live there?
2. Continued: "it is an awesome area, with schools......" Paulie, you think Mr Patton will be send ing his kids or would have sent his kids to schools in the area.....given the "awesomeness" of the Piedmont area schools?
3. T&G says "WCG focuses on re-vitlaizing city neighborhoods by restoring vacant or old properties".......Gee I thought they demo'ed the nice brick 4-plex that was on this site before?....This isnt retoration, it's new construction. BTW cities are anot revitalized with new constr and/or restoration...........cities will only be re-vitalized when you change the people, not the sturctures they live in. I'll betcha I can go the the lieberry and get a newspaper articel from the late 1940's telling us how Great Brook Valley was going to be reviatlized with the constructiuon of baracks like buildings to house the so called low income. They should have kept the Poor Farm down there....so at least the 32 year old Grandmothers that populate the valley could work for their food.
3. Mr Patton: "We never charge more than 30% of income (for rent) and make it affordable....." Dare I ask how private landlords can compete with this?
4. Mr Patton: "We have the whole area (Piedmont & Main) cornered off. Now this is truly scarey.
5. WGC will use the bottom floor of the new site for offices.............so are they expanding or moving there from their current site on Belleview St.
6. Mr Patton: "Potential local workforce housing"...........Seems to me it should also say ...POTENTIAL ..."workforce".......b/c many of these inhabitants will not be working.
7. Why does the same contractor always seem to app.
ear with these non profits CDC's
8. "the city of Worc will also be chipping in".........funny no mention of how much money to be "chipped in"
9. 3400 sq ft of residential & commercial...........I'd be curious to know the per sq. ft. cost when all the dust settles....it will proabbly rival the rumored $500,000 to $600,000 EACH that Main South CDC spent to re-locate and rehab 4 three deckers.....they certainly do look nice..........but an what cost........MADON !!!
Jahn:
You forgot to ask about parking? There is none! I mean none. The were giving a variance for all required parking. You tell me where they are going to park.
For the 100th time I was on a task for about non-profits and one of our recommendations was to Buy Local. Are there many local contracotors on these job sites. I drive by May and Burwick every day and I notice nobody that I know at either location.
Did I mention the Developer's fee? Yup, the CDC typically gets, from what I have seen, in the area of from 5 to 10% for a development fee. In other words a completed $2,000,000 project nets the underlying CDC some good revenue.
Amazing thing is that I know of three maybe four more projects in the pipeline.
Bill
"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
Let's see now...
Build more low-income housing.
Drive the paying tax base out of the city.
Continue to pour money into an unused airport.
Drive the few paying aircraft owners out with silly security policies.
Do a little research on Buffalo, NY. You'll see property values under $50,000 for a single family home (some under $20,000). Crime is rampant.
This makes me want to move farther away from Worcester. One town out isn't enough anymore.
I looked at buying the three deckah at Mason & Pleasant years ago..when it was vacant. I believe a CDC bought it for a tidy sum and sunk boekoo bucks into it for a first time buyer..it always looks likem a shit hole nowadays
Steve Quote:
"This makes me want to move farther away from Worcester. One town out isn't enough anymore."
>>look how the crud is moving towards the west side of Worcester...when was the last time you saw a "save our neighborhoods" lawn sign that were going up after the June Street relocation of the women's sober house....Worcester Proper always thought it could control the crud by keeping it fenced in District 4..nowthey have Barbara Haller and her crew..owners like me fighting back and the crud is being moved..
You'll should have been at my house Monday night...cat on 3rd floor of 224 Chandler Street beat the crap out of his ole lady and then threw all her belongings onto the sidewalk in front of John & Son's..as they led the cat who beat up his ole lady away he stated "it's worth it"
Fun stuff..while most modern cities today push this shit out..Worcester continues to encourage and not nary a peep from our City Council...I am led to believe that we have few giants on the Council...just to much happening in the city lately and little being said from the council...I know it's summah but one can still buy the T&G in Barnstable:>)
The next real estate boom will be here eventualy and I believe we will miss this one also!!
Until we get some leaders from within the urban core who want to live in it and work in it and send their kid's to the schools it is going no where!!
Lowell is a perfect example...lots of federal and state money..no one still wants to live in the urban core...but they do in close by Haverhill
Paulie:
I know the house you are talking about on Pleasant and Bellevue. They had a huge party and blocked the street when it was completed. Off the top of my head it cost over $400,000 to rehab. Drive by it and you tell me what you think.
Now that our consulting firm is up and running how about a CDC?
Bill
Chandler Street CDC!!
Paul Collyer as the Executive Director and the corporate offices will be on the 2nd floor.
Speaking of local contractors.......tHE OTHER DAY I was scouring the hood for nickel cans and I happened upon Common Grounds new duplex on Dewey St opposite the site of their proposed condo/apt complex at the old Institutional LInens site.....
BTW WGC was suppose to start constr. on that site in Sept 2005........God you might thtink they're building a new Voke High school or a roundabout..or an airport....which projects typically taek 15 years to fruition
I couldnt help but notice a sign on the front door of the new duplex......financing provided by Butler Bank.........so i just goggled Butler Bank...........and I came up with one up in Andover and anotehr in Penns.
Now I have to begin to wonder if I ran the names of all the VIPS at Butler bank...........I wonder what the nexus is to Worc Common Ground........besides of course the obligatory ocassional Red Sox box seat tix??
I also think one of Jim Mcgoversn cronnies has done work for this project too??
Jahn:
Technically this is not a Common Ground project. It is an entity named Mason Winfield, whereby Common Ground is a minority shareholder.
They do this since they can receive EPA grant monies and do not have to pay them back since the Common Ground is a Community Development Corporation.
Bill
There is a Mason Winfield LLC listed with the secretary of states office.............set up in June, 2005
I thought LLC's had to file and pay an annual $500 filing/fee.
I see no such filings/payments for this Mason Winf. LLC.........
Maybe I have the wrong LLC??........if not then isnt this LLC technically dissolved for failure to pay/file?
How can they be getting permits if the corp entity technically doesnt exist/ and /or hasnt paid req'd fees?
Can A non profit be a minority shareholder in a for profit entity? I would think this is outside of their mission???
You have the right LLC....
Actually I do recall now that MW LLC does own this property....I had forgotten.....which is great that it s a private co...........b/c it may be years before a private co dares to build...given the marker we're in now and also considering they will be competing with CDc's who sell to the exact same market segment....for $.35 cents on the dollar.
How many units are planned for that site.........townhouses or walk ups?/ condos or apts??
Jahn:
They are a private company, wiht minority ownership being Common Ground. I believe they are applying for funds from the Commonwealth that require "affordability", ie low income housing.
They also play the game where they flip a property 100% in Community Development Corp, so they can get grant clean-up funds from the EPA. Upon completion they flip it back.
Bill
Jahn;
I do not know if Steve would live on Main South or send his kid's if he has any to area schools..I do not know him very well to be quite honest with you..he has always been cordial with me.
Personally I don't think so but is this strange?? None of our leaders would? Yet they all have the answer and plan to cure the ills of the urban core of Worcester:>)Short of course in living and working in it:>)
Paulie:
You are right, Steve Patton is a very nice guy. This has nothing to do with the individual, but the overall direction our city leaders have us going.
The City of Worcester needs to stop submitting letters of approval for these agencies when they submit applications to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts when they are looking for monies.
Zoning Board of appeals needs to stop granting variances for literally 50 spaces for parking when these applicants present their plans.
Bill
Low Income Housing is Big Business in Worcester and unless the leadership addresses this.
is it just me but wouldn't you just love to hear just one polition chat it up on these blogs?? Hear a Kate Toomey opinion just once?? Just one to have the kahunas to pipe in??
What is being blogged here that our leaders never pipe in on..the Mayor of Gardner has his own blog..the Mayor of Somerville has his own blog..I am trying to think of the last time I saw a At-Larger in District 4 other than for a ham sandwich at the Hibo on Temple Street or to stick another fork,I mean shovel in the ground for a low income housing project..we used to have one in the District and not just for a beer all the time!!
Bill I thought once this Mason Winfield poperty was acquired from the city that it couldnt be transferred........except to buyers of the low income units?
I just used my Evelyn Woods speed reading skills to read todays T&G.
I read the piece about the city & EPA ongoing battle about unfunded mandates. Check me on this, but I didnt see Jim Mcgoverns name mentioned anywhere in the article and we all know how gung ho EPA thsi guys is.
Joe Kennedy, Jim McG, Patton maybe all be nice guys to you folks.........but it's time to end their policies of destroying the city of Worc & other cities via Washington money & mandates. Plus these folks get all their salaries & bennies from our tax dollars........so it a double whammy.........use our own tax dallors to destroy us............it like giving the person who wants to destroy your own bullets to financially murder you
We can get zillions of $$$$$$$$ from Washington & Boston to inundate the city w/low income housing............but we cant get squat for all these unfunded mamdates. EPA says it will cos tonly $1.3M to implement their policies.......Moylan and company say (per radio talkmeisters) it's going to be $1.3 BILLION.....or $42M.....how can there be such a variance in estomates........must be teh Big Dig mentality.
Did anyone catch the Germaine & Gemme cyber verbal boxing match in Diane today? When it comes to attempting to make headlines this Germaine has to be dumb as shovel. Time to get thsi guy off his reported $137,000 annual disablity and back to work selling insurance....that way he'll have less of a chance to screw up politically.
Two of thsoe 7 cops charged with padding their payrooll are now on paid leave.....this thing aint looking good .....................I'll go out on a limb and say the 80 to 100Kk allegedly in question for only the 6 months of January to June.............is only the tip of this icebeg IMO........the lines must be all lit up over the city council trying pull this whole thing out of the fire and save a few careers.........stay tuned whilst the wagons are circled
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