Worcester’s 10 Biggest Development Opportunities

One City Square – 3 Eaton Place
Owner: Industrial Commercial Properties LLC

Currently green space, 3 Eaton Place is the last undeveloped parcel formerly home to the Worcester Galleria. At just under 4 acres, the site consists of a deck above an underground parking garage.

Industrial Commercial Properties, an Ohio-based commercial real estate firm, purchased the site for $4.2 million in 2025. ICP calls the site One CitySquare.

Worcester-based Kelleher & Sadowsky Associates brokered the sale. Managing Partner Will Kelleher said ICP is working to finalize its plans for the site, which could include condominiums, market-rate apartments or even office space. Kelleher noted new Class-A office space would replace some of the city’s inventory that was lost when the former Fallon Health headquarters at One Chestnut Place was converted to apartments.

Former Registry of Motor Vehicles Site – 611 Main
Owner: Worcester Redevelopment Authority

The Worcester Redevelopment Authority took ownership of the former RMV site at 611 Main St., located between Downtown Worcester and the Canal District, in January. After a September listening session to gather input on the site’s future, the WRA is expected to issue a request for proposals by the end of the year, with a minimum bid of $1.5 million. Housing was a major focus of discussion at the September meeting.

The site currently contains a 13,330-square-foot building, with most of the remaining 3-acre parcel used for parking.

Former Notre Dame des Canadiens Site – 5 Salem Square
Owner: Foresight Capital LLC

After nine decades overlooking Worcester Common, the former Notre Dame des Canadiens cathedral was demolished in 2018 to make way for redevelopment. Foresight Capital, a Rhode Island-based firm led by developer Matthew and Rebecca Spencer, purchased the site in 2022 for $5 million. The fenced-off site has remained undeveloped ever since, and the City of Worcester filed a $5,845 lien in January to cover the costs of fence repairs and graffiti removal.

The 1.69-acre lot sits in a BG-6.0 zone, allowing for a range of commercial, residential, or mixed-use development.

Former Saint Peter-Marian High School – 781 Grove St.
Owner: Goddard/Homestead Inc.

Saint Peter-Marian Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School in Worcester closed in 2020, merging with Holy Name Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School to form Saint Paul Diocesan Junior-Senior High School at the former Holy Name campus.

Worcester nonprofit Goddard/Homestead Inc. purchased the former Saint Peter-Marian campus at 781 Grove St. from the Diocese of Worcester for $4.75 million in December 2021, with plans to redevelop the property into a senior living community. The not-for-profit later abandoned those plans and put the 23.8-acre property on the market in May 2025 with a suggested sale price of $6.5 million, citing rising construction costs and borrowing rates that made the project financially unworkable. The school building at the site is still standing, but has seen better days, with boarded-up windows and overgrowth around the property.

The 23.8-acre site has residential single-family zoning, with a standard minimum lot size of 7,000 square feet.

Former Diamond Chevrolet Site – 520 Park Ave. and 111 Maywood St.
Owner: Clark University

Once home to the Diamond Chevrolet car dealership, the 7.33-acre site at the intersection of Park Avenue and Maywood Street was purchased by Clark University for $6.95 million in 2021. The school originally considered student housing or other uses for the site but has since decided to sell the property.

The property at 520 Park Ave. is now under agreement with a developer exploring a mixed-use redevelopment featuring a sizable retail component, smaller pad sites for businesses such as quick-service restaurants, and approximately 200 multifamily units, Will Kelleher said. The proposal remains in preliminary engineering and due diligence, with the site’s layout and residential capacity still being evaluated. The prospective buyer is also interested in a potential joint venture with a partner offering local expertise for the residential component.

Park Avenue Parcels – 344 Park Ave., 80+90 Abbot St., 80 Winfield St.
Owner: Krock Family

Located on busy Park Avenue in a growing part of the city, this collection of largely vacant parcels has been unused for years, except for a carnival that briefly occupied the grounds this summer. Janet Krock and her daughter, Kathryn Krock Parvin, own the land. Worcester’s Department of Inspectional Services has cited the owners over the years for poor conditions, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Zoned for commercial or residential development, the land offers an opportunity for housing or businesses along an established commercial corridor. A sign advertises the property as available. A WBJ phone call to the listed number went unanswered.

Remaining Polar Park Parcels – 50 Washington St. and 133 Madison St.
Owner: Madison Properties

Madison Properties’ remaining Polar Park development sites include a proposed 175-room hotel at 133 Madison St. and the Left Field Building at 50 Washington St. The latter has a completed foundation and underground parking garage, but no building above it. Madison has expressed willingness to sell, lease or develop the property for a tenant.

Kelleher said the Left Field project remains stalled despite Worcester’s tight office market and stable rents. Financing new construction would require a sizable tenant commitment, and no user large enough to move the project forward is currently in the market.

Former Rotmans’ Site – 725 Southbridge St.
Owner: Madison Properties

Madison Properties purchased the 13-acre former Rotmans Furniture site for $7.95 million in January 2025 and partnered with the College of the Holy Cross to explore its long-term redevelopment. The property contains about 300,000 square feet of space in a former mill complex dating to the 1870s. Much of that space was left unused after Rotmans closed in 2022, although other businesses remained on the property.

At the time of the purchase, Holy Cross said the partnership would undertake an extended master planning process to identify a use supporting the college’s educational mission, potentially incorporating existing structures. A specific redevelopment plan had not been determined, with the extended master planning process giving Madison time to focus on its Polar Park-related projects.

GreenTech Park – New Bond Street
Owner: New Garden Park Inc.

The former Saint-Gobain campus is now in the hands of New Garden Park Inc., a nonprofit, wholly owned subsidiary of the Worcester Business Development Corp. The subsidiary acquired the approximately 51-acre former Saint-Gobain Abrasives property at 1 New Bond St. in November 2022. WBDC is overseeing its redevelopment, intending to develop it into an advanced manufacturing campus.

While manufacturing tenants have yet to appear, Restaurant Depot plans to open a 50,000-square-foot wholesale warehouse on the campus. Four other pad-ready sites are still up for grabs.

The Reactory – Reactory Drive
Owner: Galaxy Life Sciences

Webster developer Galaxy Life Sciences purchased multiple lots off of Belmont Street in Worcester in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the life science industry was red hot. The industry has cooled a bit since, and so has development at the site, with only a few steel beams in place for years with no further buildout.

The lack of construction at Galaxy’s lot doesn’t mean the area hasn’t seen life science activity; AbbVie is expanding nearby with a new three-story warehouse and office building. While its opening date has been pushed to 2028, completing WuXi’s $300-million facility could drive more interest in the remaining undeveloped parcels.

Kelleher & Sadowsky Managing Partner Will Kelleher said interest in The Reactory has renewed in recent months, as the life science space is rebounding a bit. The campus is set to be designated a federal opportunity zone, pending U.S. Treasury approval, offering potential tax incentives for developers