Following months of negotiations, the Architectural Heritage Foundation and the City of Worcester have executed a Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) for the Worcester Memorial Auditorium. Entering into this cooperative site control arrangement marks the completion of the first stage of last June’s purchase agreement between AHF and the City.
The Worcester City Council Economic Development Committee has endorsed AHF’s redevelopment plans for the Worcester Memorial Auditorium. The Committee’s support facilitates the execution of a Land Disposition Agreement between AHF and the City later this month, paving the way for the building’s eventual sale to AHF or its subsidiary two years from now.
With a few more years of planning and at least $170 million, three very different redevelopment projects at a trio of the city’s historic and long-vacant buildings at one of the city’s most high-profile intersections could dramatically transform a major gateway in Worcester. Those three historic buildings – the Worcester County Courthouse, the Lincoln Square Boys Club and the Worcester Memorial Auditorium – are either underway on a development project or slated for a rehabilitation in the coming months and years.
This week, Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus offered his stamp of approval for the future sale of the Worcester Memorial Auditorium to AHF. His decision came four months after AHF submitted a final report to the City outlining a plan to redevelop the building as a cutting-edge educational and cultural center for for digital innovation, entertainment, entrepreneurship, and the arts.
WORCESTER – The city has reached an agreement with the Architectural Heritage Foundation for the sale and redevelopment of the Worcester Memorial Auditorium. Under the agreement, the Boston-based historic preservation group will purchase the historic city-owned building for $450,000 and projects investing a total of $94 million in redeveloping it, according to City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr.
The Worcester Memorial Auditorium will be sold to a historic property architecture firm for $450,000 to make way for the firm’s planned $94-million redevelopment of the 87-year-old building vacant since 1999. City Manager Edward Augustus is slated to bring the news to the City Council next Tuesday, according to documents released by the city Thursday. The council will be asked to approve the sale to Boston-based Architectural Heritage Foundation.
The Architectural Heritage Foundation, a Boston-based preservation group, has agreed to purchase the iconic Worcester Auditorium for $450,000, according to the city manager, with a plan to transform the building into an innovative technology, arts and education center.
The City has agreed to sell the Worcester Memorial Auditorium to the Architectural Heritage Foundation. The Aud is being sold for $450,000 and looks to invest a total of $94M into redeveloping it.
