Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 23, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 9 Continued on page 10 Leveraging strides in Worcester center Main Street Franklin Street Front Street Myrtle Street Francis McGrath Blvd. Foster Street Business Improvement Distict W O R C E S T E R The 78-acre Worcester Business Improvement District is centered around the Worcester Common, with some of the downtown's largest commercial properties. safety, that's the big one certainly from our members but also from the public," Darling said. "at's something that we see in survey aer survey." Events have been difficult to hold, but there have been some, including Jazz at Sunset outside the Hanover eatre, with people wearing masks and spaced safely apart, and a drive-in movie show- ing in the McGrath/Worcester Public Library parking lot. e pandemic has challenged the vi- ability of nearly any restaurant or store, and has led to quieter street scenes in places like downtown Worcester. Fewer office workers show up each weekday at Mercantile Center, for example, and one restaurant just across the street, Shangri-La, has closed per- manently. Across Worcester Common, four restaurants at the Grid District are closed at least through the winter: e Worcester Beer Garden, Franklin Street Fare, Revolution Pie + Pint, and Cra Table & Bar. ose closures, at least temporary in nature, add to a broader issue for the neighborhood of vacant storefronts, par- ticularly in key locations, including ma- jor chains that le before the pandemic: a former 7-Eleven at Main and Franklin streets and a former Honey Dew Donuts at Main and Pleasant streets. "It's definitely a challenge, and Worcester's in no means alone in that," Darling said. Retail trends aren't entirely in the wrong direction. e restaurant Chashu Ramen + Izakaya opened on Franklin Street in September, and plans remain for an opening next year for a 500-seat, two-story restaurant at Mercantile Center from Boston's Broadway Hospitality Group. Other vacant storefronts are being turned temporarily into art. Window art displays were added this fall to vacant storefronts at 554 Main St. across from the Hanover eater. Once the pan- demic lis, the district has plans to do more so-called placemaking: improving the design of public spaces and giving How the two Central Massachusetts business improvement districts work Hudson The fee formula for properties is based on the following formula: • Commercial properties: .0035 x the assessed value* • Commercial residential properties: .002 x assessed value • Mixed-use properties: .0035 for commercial/retail and .002 for residential X the assessed value • Public (e.g. municipal, state or federal government entities) and nonprofit corporations will negotiate fee agreements. • Residential condominiums and single- family residential: Exempt Worcester The fee formula for properties is based on the following formula: • Commercial: .003 x the assessed value • Mixed-use: .003 x the assessed value • Commercial residential: .003 x the assessed value • Residential (condominiums, single family residences): Exempt • Colleges: Negotiated agreements * Example: $3,500 payment on a $1-million property Source: Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development

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