The Grid District joins downtown Worcester’s renaissance

In Media

View story at masslive.com

Photo: Mass Live. An ownership group that owns six acres in downtown Worcester has begun marketing it newly expected retail and planned apartment renovations as ‘The Grid District.’

By Michael D. Kane

WORCESTER – Across from the sounds of heavy equipment at City Square and away from the high profile announcements at Mercantile Center, more subtle changes are coming to fruition in downtown Worcester.

As renovations recently finished to the storefronts along Franklin and Portland streets, the brown paper came down and up went window wraps, a portent of things to come on the other side of the common.

Joseph Donovan, vice president of MG2, the ownership group that owns roughly six acres in downtown Worcester. Marketed as “The Grid District,” the properties include storefronts along Franklin and Portland streets.

“We are pleased to have connected with several restaurant operators who will occupy retail spaces along Franklin and Portland Streets,” Donovan said via email.

MG2 Group is a full services real estate firm based in Quincy that roughly six acres worth of properties in downtown Worcester. The company’s website notes its properties hold 510 apartments and 50,000 square feet of retail space.

Those buildings include the Park Plaza on the corner of Main and Franklin Streets, lofts on Portland Street, the building on the corner of Franklin and Portland Streets, the Bancroft Building, the Houghton Building, The Paris Cinema, Bancroft Hall, which is leased to Becker College, and the building known as Portside, which sits behind Bancroft Building.

“After roughly a decade of ownership and assemblage of high and low-rise buildings in downtown Worcester, MG2 is poised to take advantage of revitalization within the city’s master-planned Theater District,” Donovan said.

The city announced the Theatre District Master Plan in December 2012. The goal is to create a mixed-use area of housing, entertainment and cultural buildings that will bring the “18-hour neighborhood.” It is an oft-referred concept when talking about downtown renovation, including City Square and Mercantile Center, which plan on bringing new restaurants, clubs and hotel rooms within walking distance of Shrewsbury Street, the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts and Union Station.

Donovan cited that growth in saying MG2 has completed a master plan and overall vision for The Grid District.

“The City of Worcester and several affiliated economic groups have made the revitalization of the (Theatre) District and immediate surroundings a high profile initiative with several facets,” he said. “New development is taking place, retail uses have returned and local colleges have established academic and residential presences, bringing back a sense of vibrancy to the area.”

With apartment upgrades and invitations retailers and restaurateurs that cater to a younger crowd, The Grid is being marketed as much as an experience as it is a place to call home.

“Exterior renovations will return buildings to their historic glory. Interior living spaces will be modern and sleek,” he said.

A “dramatic lobby renovation” of the Bancroft Building lobby, a complete renovation of the building at 82 Frankin St. and the eventual razing of the Paris Cinema “will further catalyze change in the District,” Donovan said.

“MG2’s overall plan marries the history of the buildings and location with a cool, trendy ‘live and play’ vibe that appeals to the large student and young professional population,” Donovan said. “The common areas, amenities and retail will be carefully planned and programmed to encourage residents and retail patrons to contribute to a lively, urban community.”