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WORCESTER, MA-Boston-based Berkeley Investments Inc. has signed a development agreement with city officials to transform a vacant outlet mall into a $583-million pedestrian friendly mix of shops, offices and residential uses. The project, called City Square, will be completed over the next five to seven years.

The project has been in the negotiation stages for years but the final accord paves the way for construction on the 2.1-million-sf, mixed-use project to begin, probably by the end of this year. Barbara Smith-Bacon, project manager for Berkley, tells GlobeSt.com that the firm will begin by demolishing the vacant Worcester Common Outlet and creating a street grid that will link the surrounding neighborhoods to the downtown area.

A 1,000-car underground parking garage will be topped by a major portion of the project, which will include 400,000 sf of street-level retail and entertainment offerings. Also part of the plan is about one million sf of new and existing office space and 650 housing units, Smith-Bacon says.

Built on more than 20 acres, City Square will be constructed in three phases with the majority of construction work completed during Phase I, which will be completed in four years. The second and third phases will take an additional one to two years to finish, Smith-Bacon adds.

"It's perfectly positioned, not only because of its location in Worcester but because of what is going on in the rest of Worcester." Smith-Bacon notes that the city is in the midst of several major redevelopment projects, including the renovation of a performing arts center and the construction of a state courthouse and an adjacent hotel. No tenants have yet signed on to the project but Smith-Bacon says Berkeley is in the process of talking with several nationally known retailers.

Instant Insights /

Worcester Approves $583M City Square

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