For Immediate Release: 12/7/2016 1:12 pm
Worcester, MA (December 7, 2016) - The City of Worcester was informed Tuesday afternoon that Brady Sullivan Properties will terminate its sale agreement to buy the former Worcester County Courthouse from the City.
The City plans to post a Request For Information to interested developers as soon as possible to develop the historic property.
As part of the agreement, the City will retain a $120,000 deposit.
Brady Sullivan agreed to purchase the former courthouse in 2015 for $1.2 million, with plans to convert the building into a projected 115 market rate residential apartments with 3,000 square-feet of retail space. The former courthouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, consists of about 250,000 square-feet located on 4.28 acres at Main and Highland Streets.
The City took over the vacant former courthouse, 2 Main Street, from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for $1 on Aug. 6, 2014. The State tried for more than five years to find a buyer for the property, but was unable to attract interest.
City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. said the City is confident it will be able to find a qualified developer for the project. Worcester continues to experience a strong residential rental market, and was recently ranked third in the northeast for return on investment for rental properties by a network of property management services, behind only Boston and Washington D.C.
Much of the required environmental cleanup of the property is already complete, with $2 million in remediation work paid for by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Another $1 million in state-funded work remains to replace windows, which will be done in concert with a future developer.
The property will also benefit from an $11 million complete reconstruction of Main Street, from Highland Street to Chandler Street. That work is scheduled to be completed in 2017.
"Since this agreement was announced, Worcester has seen multiple residential projects launched in and around downtown, and I'm confident the demand is there to find a quality developer in short order," said City Manager Augustus. "This unique, historic property will be a beautiful addition to north Main Street when it's complete."
