Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 30, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 17 is here for you! Central One Auburn 508-832-2100 Northborough 508-393-8112 Westborough 508-366-5553 Shrewsbury 508-842-7400 As a financial cooperative, our members are our foundation. Navigating through these unchartered times may be challenging and we want you to know, Central One is here for you. Although our lobbies are temporarily closed, we have extended our Drive Up hours to accommodate your banking needs. Drive up hours: all branches Monday - Friday 7 am - 6 pm, Saturdays - regular business hours vary by branch. Member Support Center: Monday - Friday 7 am - 6 pm, Saturday 8:30 am-3 pm We encourage members to bank from the comfort of their home by using Online and Mobile banking. Visit one of our 55,000 fee-free ATM's in the SUM or Allpoint network. Thank you for your continued loyalty and patience as we move forward together. Be safe and be well. T E LE G R A M & G A ZETTE 2019 800-527-1017 | centralfcu.com 800-527-1017 | centralfcu.com cars parked in its lot, but the addition of fences and cameras has helped curb the problem. He expects Stamp Factory Los to stimulate more interest in the neighborhood. "Once you see one project done, it has a trick- le-down effect," he said. In fact, there's already another apartment project happening just down the street. Nonprofit developer Worcester Common Ground is building 31 units of af- fordable housing at 120 and 126 Chandler St. Stroe said he doesn't think there's any particular significance to both projects coming together along similar timelines. "It just happened that both of these buildings were vacant and underutilized," he said. "It's more of a coin- cidence than anything. Everywhere in the town there's activity." Keeping the historic feel For Stroe, investing in the building is part of a long- term commitment to the city. Aer graduating from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, he stuck around in the city. For the last 12 years, he's been working in real estate development, gradually increasing the size of his projects. He and Adler met through Black Diamond, a local real estate developers group. "Tim and I met over there, and we have similar backgrounds," Stroe said. "We clicked, and we did our first project together at the Indian Hill School." at 23-unit project, known as North Village Los, at 155 Ararat St. in Worcester, was also an adaptive reuse project, maintaining aspects of the original con- struction while updating the property and refitting it as apartments. This rendering shows how the new Stamp Factory Lofts will retain its historic look. Today, that same process is underway at the former razor factory. Stroe said the duo started work in No- vember, doing some minor demolition and replacing windows. To meet federal guidelines for historical proj- ects, he said, the windows had to accurately replicate the historical look of the building. While the reuse of a historical building can't compete with new construc- tion on energy efficiency, he said they've been making a concerted effort on that front too. "We plan to keep the building and operate it, so obviously we are interested in having an efficient build- ing," he said. The coronavirus impact on the timeline is spring, Stroe said, they're working on framing and underground plumbing. "We are in full development mode right now," he said, speaking March 19. "Of course we don't know how the virus is going to change the construction industry, but so far it's been good. We have a small crew and nobody has been sick or had their families sick. We are moving forward now with precautions." In the longer term, Stroe said, it's hard to foresee the changes COVID-19 will bring to the real estate market. "I personally believe that we are going to see a small recession," he said. "As far as the impacts, it's hard to tell. We are not in high-end real estate business, which I believe is going to be impacted a little bit more." Stroe said he and Adler are aiming to wrap up con- struction in November or December and be ready to rent out some months aer that. "However, this is a historic building, so we have to go through certain approvals and we don't know how long this is going to take," he said. "Recently there are more projects like this in Worcester, so the line is getting more crowded." W RENDERING/COURTESY

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