Worcester Renters Left Homeless After Collapse Get Relief With Hotel Extension

WORCESTER, MA — A handful of former tenants of a partially collapsed Worcester apartment building will get another month of shelter at a local hotel after city officials and local nonprofits this week stepped up to foot the bill.

More than 100 267 Mill St. tenants were left homeless on July 15 when a roof at the building caved in, likely due to a heavy load of construction materials placed on part of the roof. In the aftermath, the tenants were able to shelter at a downtown Worcester hotel paid for by the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

But that temporary shelter was set to expire on Thursday, with about two dozen former 267 Mill St. residents still living at the hotel while they search for new housing. A majority of the tenants still living at the hotel are Black, some speak English as a second language and some are disabled.

United Way of Central Massachusetts CEO Tim Garvin said Tuesday that the nonprofit will pay for the residents to shelter at the hotel until Aug. 31. A spokesman for acting Worcester City Manager Eric Batista said the city would use $100,000 in federal pandemic stimulus dollars to pay for the hotel through the end of September.

Starting on the day of the collapse, the 267 Mill St. tenants have faced many obstacles in the aftermath of the collapse.

Immediately following the disaster, many tenants struggled to get information about assistance available to them, including possible insurance payments that never materialized. One week after the collapse, the landlord took the tenants to court in search of an order to start removing their belongings from the damaged building.

The building owner — a Franklin-based company called 267 Mill Street LLC, whose managers are listed as Michelle and Bechara Fren — did not immediately provide moving assistance to the renters, but did refund security deposits. A Housing Court judge later ordered the landlord to meet with tenants to arrange a way to have their belongings placed in storage and moved.

The Frens are managers of companies that own apartment buildings across Worcester County, including several in Worcester and Leominster. The couple on Aug. 4 also closed on a $3 million mansion along Dedham Street in Dover, according to the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds.

The tenants have had prominent members of the community in their corner. District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj, whose territory covers the apartment building, has appeared in court with the tenants, and spoken during city council meetings and on social media about the obstacles they've faced — including what the city could've done better in responding to the collapse.

Community Legal Aid has provided representation for the tenants in court. And Garvin said organizations like the Worcester County Food Bank, Worcester Housing Authority, local restaurants have stepped up to help; the Worcester Red Sox provided free tickets to give the tenants a night of fun, Garvin said.

"This is just one more challenge where the community from Worcester has come together," he said.