Worcester Boys Club Project May Get City's First Trust Fund Grant

WORCESTER, MA — A project that would redevelop the former Worcester Boys Club building in Lincoln Square into senior housing may get the first ever grant from the city's new Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Worcester established the housing trust fund in 2021 using $15 million from a larger federal pandemic stimulus allotment. The trust fund is intended to spur the development of affordable housing, with developers eligible for up to $150,000 from the fund per affordable unit.

The city's Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board of Trustees is recommending a $1.75 million grant for the Boys Club project following a presentation by the developer at a Nov. 16 meeting. The board is set to vote on that grant on Wednesday.

Boston-based developer WinnCompanies first revealed plans to redevelop the dilapidated Boys Club building in spring 2021 after buying the building in 2019. All 80 units planned for the building — and an addition that will be built above the tunnel to Main Street — will be affordable and restricted to people over age 55. Sixty-nine units will be affordable for people earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI) and 11 units at 30 percent AMI. Nine units will be accessible for disabled people.

The 80 affordable units will have to remain affordable for at least 30 years, according to the housing trust fund's regulations.

WinnCompanies Vice President Michael O'Brien told the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board of Trustees that the company is still working on arranging financing for the project. The developer expects that process to be complete by the end of 2023. Construction could be complete by June 2025, O'Brien said.

O'Brien said the company is working on securing a variety of other grants and credits for the project, including through the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, $3.15 million in state and federal historic tax credits, $500,000 from the city's HOME Investment Partnerships Program and $900,000 from the state Underutilized Properties Program.

The Boys Club building was built on a donated parcel at 16 Salisbury St. in 1929, and served as a sports and community club until 1978, when the Worcester Vocational High School took over a large part of the building. Both the school and club vacated the building by 2006, and it's been empty ever since. The building has sustained heavy water damage over the past 18 years due to a leaking roof, O'Brien said.

WinnCompanies has completed developments across the U.S., including several in Worcester: the Voke Lofts (located behind the Boys Club building), the Canal District Lofts and the Coes Pond Village apartments near Webster Square.