Worcester Restaurant's Closing Will Make Way For 375 Apartments

WORCESTER, MA — Two months after a longtime Worcester barbecue joint closed, a developer is proposing a large apartment building for the site.

A North Carolina-based developer this week submitted plans for an eight-story, 375-unit building where Smokestack Urban BBQ once smoked. The building would also include 22,000 square-feet of retail or restaurant space on the first floor.

Although proposed by a separate developer, the new building would be the third phase in a redevelopment of the former Table Talk factory near on Kelley Square. Boston Capital is building over 100 units on the site — including 83 affordable units — in two phases, plus a parking garage.

Developer Quarterra's third phase building would connect to the others via a pedestrian bridge over Spruce Street — a new road that will be constructed linking Green Street to Washington Street.

If built, the Quarterra building will be inside a special taxing district established by the city to pay for Polar Park. Worcester borrowed close to $160 million to fund the park's construction, and new tax revenue generated by new developments inside the district are being put toward annual debt payments over 30 years.

Other recent developments in the district include The Cove, a 171-unit building just a block north of the proposed Quarterra development; and the 228-unit SOMA building across Madison Street from Polar Park.

Smokestack Urban BBQ closed in November, one in a series of restaurant closings in the area around Polar Park.