Worcester Plans to Restore Downtown Center

WORCESTER, MA-This city is planning on developing a master plan to renovate Worcester Common, a 4.8-acre parcel in the heart of downtown here. The site is currently home to a number of old monuments and patches of grass.

Officials in the city’s planning department confirm for GlobeSt.com that plans are underway and a series of public hearings and workshops are scheduled to invite public input. Improvements will involve renovating the Common’s monuments and walkways, as well as presenting some of the area’s history to visitors.

Repeated calls to the city’s Parks Department were not returned by presstime but the department’s commissioner reportedly estimates that the improvements will cost between $4 million to $5 million. Part of the project will be funded by a federal urban self-help land/water conservation grant, awarded through the state Executive Office of Environmental Management. That amount would be matched by a city appropriation.

Worcester Common is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and any plans would have to be approved by the Massachusetts Historical Commission.