Worcester OKs Supportive Housing For Homeless, But Neighbors Object

WORCESTER, MA — The Worcester Planning Board Wednesday night approved a proposal to convert an Oriol Drive hotel into a permanent supportive housing site — a first for Worcester, and a type of housing that research shows is one of the most effective ways to reduce homelessness.

But the project also drew objections from many residents living in neighborhoods off north Lincoln Street who say the building will be a nuisance, exacerbating existing problems with homelessness, crime and drug use in that area.

According to plans, the nonprofit Worcester Community Housing Resources will renovate the Oriol Drive Quality Inn to include 90 units: 57 one-bedrooms and 33 studios. The units will be very low cost, with tenants paying a maximum of 30 percent of their income in rent.

WCHR will also bring in service providers who will work with the building residents on issues like substance use disorder and mental illness. A private security company will be onsite 24/7.

"The goal of the project is to take people who are living on the streets now off the streets and give them safe housing," attorney Todd Rodman, representing WCHR, said at the meeting. "We hope this provides a net benefit for this neighborhood."

Planning Board Chair Albert LaValley reminded the meeting attendees multiple times that the board did not have jurisdiction over the use of the building, only the physical plans. But residents used the meeting to air a range of grievances and concerns.

Marshall Gaylord, a Pasadena Parkway resident, wanted the board to say what would be done to control the residents of the building while outside their apartments.

"These people are not going to be there 24 hours a day, they're going to be moving out into the area," Gaylord said. "After they leave the site, where are they going to go? They take buses to come down to the city and just mill around, or are they going to mill around in the neighborhood?

District 2 City Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson — whose district covers Oriol Drive — said opposition to the project is not due to NIMBYism, an acronym that stands for "not in my backyard." But many residents were upset about how WCHR had communicated with the neighborhood about the plans, she said.

"It's not that it's a NIMBY type of situation here tonight or over the last several months. This is about answering and reassuring people about what is about to take place in their neighborhood," she said.

A couple of speakers did specifically ask that the project not be located near their homes — one woman offered to help find a different location, and asked for a "continuance" of the project to allow the Planning Board to observe conditions in the neighborhood.

"I'm saying to you find another place, this is not the right spot, even though you've got a big heart in this area," one man said.

Resident Joe Carcia said the project will place people with sobriety issues close to a liquor store, which is directly across from the Lincoln Street School.

"I totally support housing people and helping them, but the size of it and the context? I really hope we can have conversations to have this done responsibly," Carcia said. "This seems rushed forward and put through."

Bradford Gauthier upbraided the city for a larger problem with homelessness, drug addiction and crime near Lincoln Street. Choking back tears, Gauthier said the Oriol Street project would bring more "chaos, misery, criminality" to the neighborhood.

Permanent supportive housing projects like the Quality Inn may actually be the best way to reduce issues surrounding homelessness, like crime and addiction, according to recent research.

A 2020 study by the University of California-San Francisco found that a supportive housing project in that state resulted in 86 percent of "complex chronically homeless people" remaining in homes. Planning Board Vice Chair Edward Moynihan discussed a five-year study of supportive housing in Denver that found similar high success. Moynihan also presented research from a Massachusetts study, and a federal government study of the model from Boise, Idaho — a city similar in size to Worcester.

Each member of the Planning Board spoke in favor of the project during remarks before voting unanimously to approve the Quality Inn plan. The vote only covered the planned renovations, not the use of the building.

"It's something that is a first step for Worcester to get on the right track to find solutions for affordable housing in this city," Planning Board member Brandon King said.