Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | April 29, 2019 | wbjournal.com C E N T R A L M AS S I N B R I E F WooSox plans move hotel for offices overlooking field V E R BAT I M Marijuana ice cream "Our goal is to get in front of the Whole Foods clientele and people that really read the label and care about where their food is coming from. It's not just about getting organic cannabis. It's about getting quality ingredients paired with it. That's lacking in a lot of edibles." David Yusefzadeh, CEO and founder of Framingham ice cream cannabis infusion company Cloud Creamery, on his aspirations for the company New veterinary dean "I am particularly excited to join Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and Tufts University. The opportunities for veterinary education, research and clinical service that support the regional and global communities are outstanding." Alastair Cribb, the incoming dean of Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Grafton, on his vision for the school Security sector "We've sold more than 2,000 different inspection scopes to U.S. Customs & Border Protection. Every port of entry has one of our scopes ... There's one at every U.S. embassy, one on Air Force One and one on Air Force Two." Doug Hughes, CEO of Sturbridge optical equipment manufacturer Optim, on one of the company's largest customer bases W orcester and develop- er Madison Prop- erties have officially announced changes to the planned mixed-use development to accompany the $101-million Polar Park baseball stadium: a five-story office building to take the place of a planned hotel. e 96,000-square-foot office building will sit above an un- derground parking garage and include a roof deck and retail space overlooking the field, according to an April an- nouncement from the city. e ball- park will be home to the Triple A minor league Pawtucket Red Sox aer they move to the Canal District in 2021. e 110-room hotel previously planned for le field will move south of Madison Street adjacent to a 140-room, extended-stay hotel, 225 apartments and 50,000 square feet of retail. Complete design plans and drawings of the development have not yet been unveiled, but early renderings of the office building show a deck spanning the entirety of the roof and balconies on low- er floors. Retail is on the bottom floor. e change represents an increase in the size and scope of Madison Properties' first phase of development. e size of a planned retail development, however, appears to be decreasing from 65,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet. e 140-room hotel was previously an- nounced as a 150-room hotel. A second phase, including 200,000 square feet of residential, office and/or mixed-use, remains unchanged. Worcester officials hope tax revenue from Madison's development, along with rent payments from the team, will pay off the $101 million the city is borrowing to build the stadium. Project slightly behind schedule When combined, the massive 650,000-square-foot undertaking to redevelop the Canal District and the vacant Wyman-Gordon land comes at a price tag of $240 million. In a statement, City Manager Edward Augustus said momentum has been building rapidly, leading to an increase in interest from residents and the busi- ness community for the project since plans were announced for the team to move out of Pawtucket last August. Denis Dowdle, president of Madison Properties, was instrumental in the deal, Augustus said. "With a proven track record of suc- cess both here in Worcester and in other cities, we are thrilled to see the evolu- tion of this project take shape and look forward to seeing the transformation of an already vibrant and thriving neigh- borhood," Augustus said. Dowdle purchased 18 acres of the va- cant Wyman-Gordon land in March for $6.1 million to facilitate the project, and the Worcester Redevelopment Authority is in the process of acquiring at least seven parcels needed for the ballpark. e WRA has acted on just three of those properties via eminent domain proceedings, but the city is already be- hind deadlines. A letter of intent signed between the city and team called for the city to control the properties by April 1. Construction is planned for July. W Denis Dowdle, president, Madison Properties BY ZACHARY COMEAU Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer The first phase of Worcester Red Sox development in the Canal District, which includes the stadium, is expected to be done by early 2021.

• Cover