Vacant Worcester Church Set To Become Apartment Building

WORCESTER, MA — A plan to convert a former Worcester church into the newest downtown apartment building may get a key approval this week.

A Boston-based developer has floated a plan to turn the former Mission Chapel, 205 Summer St., into a seven-unit building. The Planning Board will review the proposal at a meeting set for Wednesday.

The building, which sits adjacent to St. Vincent Hospital at the corner of Bridge and Summer streets, was built in the 1850s but has not been in use in decades. Representatives with Jamaica Plain-based Fresh Turf LLC say they will preserve the historical character of the brick building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The renovation calls for two units of varying sizes on each floor. The units would rent at market rates, according to plans.

Fresh Turf was granted an eight-year tax increment financing incentive for the development in July 2019 worth about $83,000, according to city records. The development would join other new projects either completed or nearing completion in the Washington Square area: the new Homewood Suites hotel across from the Mission Chapel; a proposed Home2 Suites hotel on the northwest side of the Washington Square rotary.

The Worcester Planning Board meeting to review the Mission Chapel development begins at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.