Worcester, MA — The Main South Community Development Corporation and its community partners, along with MassDevelopment, Bay State Bank, the City of Worcester and UMass Memorial Health, celebrated the grand opening of the Main South Plaza Affordable Commercial Condominiums with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 2 at 807 Main Street in Worcester.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony featured remarks from Worcester city officials, elected representatives, leaders from the project’s development partners, and the owners of the commercial condominiums. The event also included the unveiling and dedication of the Barbara Haller Memorial Sculpture, a permanent public art installation located in the rear patio of Main South Plaza, honoring the late District 4 Councilor’s legacy of advocacy and community-building in the Main South neighborhood.
The project marks a major milestone for Main South’s commercial corridor, transforming a formerly vacant and blighted property into six newly developed affordable commercial condominiums. The condominium units are being sold on a “lease-to-own” basis at discounted prices to local entrepreneurs and small business owners who will become engaged participants with an economic stake in the neighborhood’s continued revitalization.
The concept for this project began during the early implementation stages of MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) district in Worcester’s Main South neighborhood, which was active from 2018-2022. This program provided a full-time agency employee, TDI Fellow Ivette Olmeda, and resources aimed at stimulating local economic growth. Olmeda’s discussions with many small business owners in Main South revealed a prevalent desire to own their premises amid changing market pressures. Ownership would provide them with greater financial stability and security and allow them the opportunity to create generational wealth.
807 Main St.
“On what were once vacant lots now stand six vibrant new retail spaces, with the opportunity for local business owners to build wealth through their storefronts and stay in Worcester’s Main South neighborhood as long as they choose to,” said MassDevelopment president and CEO, Navjeet Bal. “MassDevelopment was pleased to support this innovative project through the organizing leadership of our Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) fellow for this neighborhood and more than $2.4 million in loans and grants, partnering with other public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders committed to turning this idea into reality.”
MassDevelopment supported the creation of these lease-to-own storefronts with more than $2.4 million in funding, including a $650,000 agency loan and $1,793,000 in grants from the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, TDI Equity Investment program, and TDI Site Activation. Additional brownfield redevelopment grants from the City of Worcester helped remediate over 3,000 tons of arsenic-contaminated soil. City ARPA funds and a low-interest loan through UMass Memorial Health’s Anchor Mission helped reduce the debt service burden and ensure the affordability of the units. Post-construction, Bay State Bank has worked with five of the business owners to prequalify and prepare them for mortgages, which the Worcester-based bank is offering at below-market interest rates and with reduced down payment requirements to enhance the affordability of this opportunity.
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“Improving the independence of small business owners, through innovative affordable commercial real estate development combined with strong community partnerships, is critical to preserving local businesses that serve the everyday needs of our communities,” said Seth A. Pitts, Bay State Bank president and CEO. “Bay State Bank is committed to helping small businesses access the capital necessary to grow, and we remain united in partnership with the Main South CDC and other local organizations that improve the economic vitality of our communities. We are particularly proud to play a role in this revolutionary idea-turned-reality, which demonstrates the power of collective community engagement and investing for impact.”
