Where In Worcester New Large-Scale Affordable Housing Could Go

WORCESTER, MA — The Worcester City Council on Tuesday took on an order asking the Worcester Housing Authority (WHA) to investigate building the city's first large-scale affordable housing complex this century.

The order came from Mayor Joseph Petty Jr., and during a discussion at the Council meeting, At-Large Councilor Donna Colorio wondered if there were any sites left in the city to build public housing on.

"The City Manager be and is hereby requested to, and his administration work with, the leadership of the Worcester Housing Authority to look at the possibility of building the first large scale affordable housing development since 1992," the order said.

Setting aside vacant land held by private property owners, there are a variety empty parcels owned by the WHA across the city, according to city property records:

• 51 Belmont St. and 55 Fountain St., two WHA parking lots squeezed between I-290 and Fountain Street that total about 0.30 acres combined.
• 306 Harding St. and 176 Washington St., two back-to-back parking lots located about 1-1/2 blocks from Kelley Square that total about a quarter of an acre.
• 0 Mill St., a 0.37-acre sliver located directly behind the Webster Square Towers currently being used as a parking lot.
• 38 Lewis St., a 0.6-acre empty lot located in a residential neighborhood between Cambridge and Southbridge streets.
• 75 Rodney St., a 0.6-acre empty lot near Green Hill Park off Belmont Street.
• 61 Tacoma St., a 0.16-acre forested parcel across Tacoma Street from the Curtis Apartments — one of the city's largest public housing sites that's set to get a $178 million makeover.

Although none of those parcels total more than an acre, WHA has built on small parcels before. One of the city's newest public housing sites at 2 Lafayette St. sits on .24 acres, according to property records. The 18-story Belmont Towner Apartments sits on about 1-1/2 acres.

The city of Worcester — excluding the school, public works and parks departments — also owns many vacant parcels across the city. Those include 257 Belmont St., a 1.3-acre wooded parcel located next to The Reactory biotech park; 9 Blackstone River Road, a parking lot across the street from Quinsigamond Elementary School; and 26 Chatham St., a half-acre parking lot downtown.

Petty has also signaled a possible location for new housing. During his inauguration speech on Jan. 3, he called for the city's public works operations to move from Worcester and Albany streets, which would open up several acres in a central location for possible development.