Worcester’s Breakthrough Moment: Front Street Extension
Thursday, May 24, 2012
The new view from Front Street
The CitySquare development is a multi-year, multi-phase project on 21 acres in downtown Worcester, and includes 2.2 million square feet of mixed-use space, reestablishing pedestrian friendly streetscapes and creating vibrant new housing, retail and varied commercial options, all within walking distance of the inter-modal transit hub at Worcester's Union Station.
“Now that we can see from City Hall to Union Station, Worcester is reclaiming a part of its past,” Lt. Governor Tim Murray said. “The mall cut out the heart of the city, and the majority of the residents have no memory of the city without the mall.”
Dan Lawson, a member of Preservation Worcester, was in the crowd as the curtain fell.
“This is a great day for the city of Worcester,” Mayor Joseph Petty, who served as emcee for the event, said. “It’s been a decade in coming, and is a shared victory.”
Petty also presented a key to the city to architect Dan Benoit, who initially proposed the project 13 years ago.
Fred Eppinger, president of Hanover Insurance, which has invested $100 million into the project said the city has a bright future. “We have confidence in this investment because of the core of committed vibrant companies in the city who are willing to invest in the city,” he said.
City Manager Michael O’Brien said the project represents a solid investment in the future of Worcester. “It is a bold gesture to make City Square in the best of times, but we made it happen in the midst of a global recession.”
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