Worcester BDC To Focus On Revitalizing Greendale Industrial Area

WORCESTER, MA — The Worcester Business Development Corporation (WBDC) will turn its focus to revitalizing a large industrial swath of the city in the Greendale area, which follows other redevelopment efforts mounted by the nonprofit.

The Greendale Revitalization Project will focus on an area roughly between the former Greendale Mall site north to Mountain Street, an area that includes the former Showcase Cinemas site and Saint-Gobain.

WBDC CEO Craig Blais said the nonprofit will act as a "quarterback" for revitalizing the area, connecting developers and companies with available sites, permitting, environmental assessments and helping acquire grants for infrastructure.

Blais said the turn to Greendale comes now that the Reactory project along Belmont Street is near completion. The 44-acre site will soon be home to a WuXi Biologics manufacturing facility, and a 95,000 square-foot flexible life sciences building.

District 1 City Councilor Sean Rose said the Greendale plan has been a goal for a long time. The plan will also include possible upgrades along West Boylston Street, a commercial thoroughfare between Burncoat and the industrial area.

"The goals of the WBDC will be to modernize aging infrastructure and structures, plan for more efficient and pedestrian-friendly transportation, increase the number of small businesses along West Boylston Street in addition to industrial companies resulting in diverse and high-quality employment for the region," Rose said.

Previously, Rose helped get the former Barbers Crossing Restaurant demolished in 2019. The building had been abandoned since 2004 and was an eyesore. The site is still vacant today.

There's already ongoing activity inside the revitalization area. The New York City-based real estate investor Criterion Group recently purchased the former Showcase Cinemas building and will soon begin demolition, Blais said. A 111-unit apartment complex is under construction across the street. The Greendale Mall demolition is mostly complete with plans for an Amazon distribution facility at the site.