Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | March 4, 2024 | wbjournal.com I N B R I E F Business dean "Since last August, he has brought a new energy and focus and, along with the team at the School of Management, has developed bold plans for the future of the School." David Fithian, president of Clark University in Worcester, on David Jordan dropping the interim tag and becoming the dean of Clark's School of Management. Pictured is Jordan. Life sciences funding "We are in a golden-era of innovation across the intersection of AI and biology, where technological breakthroughs are creating new approaches to diagnosing and treating disease." Simone Song, founder of Natick healthcare investment firm ORI Capital, on raising $260 million to support investments into biotechnology companies, with the goal of finding treatments for cancer, metabolic disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases Nonprofit funding "The Nonprofit Support Center's relaunch signifies our deep commitment to empowering nonprofits with the tools, resources, and networks they need to thrive." Pete Dunn, president and CEO of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, on the reopening of the Nonprofit Support Center with $1 million in order to provide funding and guidance to Central Massachusetts organizations BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Staff Writer A property set to play a role in helping the City of Worcester pay off debt associated with the construction of $160-million Polar Park is facing delays. e developer behind a proposed 375-unit apartment complex at the former site of the Table Talk Pies factory are requesting an extension of site plan approvals from the Worcester Planning Board until Feb. 1, 2026, citing difficulties in obtaining funding for the project in the current economic environment. e project is known as Table Talk Los. "e Applicant has been forced to delay the submission of a definitive site plan approval application in connection with the Project due to challenges with respect to access to financing and capital related to the rise of inflation and interest rates, instability of the banking system, and an overall slowdown in the commercial real estate market," reads a Jan. 25 letter from Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey, LLP, which representing Quarterra Multifamily Communities, the North Carolina- based developer behind the project. e City plans on using property tax funds and other funds raised from the District Improvement Financing zone surrounding the Polar Park baseball stadium to help pay off $146 million in bonds used to finance the project. e City has faced difficulties in making its annual payments on those bonds and has relied on a one-time property sale of $3 million to cover revenue shortfalls. However, the City has never had do use funds outside of those generated in the DIF zone to pay for the stadium, one of government officials' key promises in getting the stadium project approved. e stadium cost a total of $160 Development planned for former Table Talk Pies site, key to funding Polar Park, having difficulty raising financing PHOTO | WBJ FILE million and is the most expensive minor league baseball stadium ever built. Its construction was key in luring the Pawtucket Red Sox to move into Worcester's Canal District starting in the 2021 season. e delay at the Table Talk Los project is the latest issue surrounding development of the land surrounding the ballpark. A property at 139 Green St. was originally supposed to be the third phase of the Quarterra development, but that property was re-listed for sale in December. A number of other nearby developments, including proposed bioscience lab space located behind le field in Polar Park and a nearby proposed hotel, have yet to materialize. Mark Borenstein of Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey is representing the developer for the Table Talk Los project. W The proposed Table Talk Lofts development is slated to replace the now-demolished Table Talk Pies manufacturing facility on Kelley Square in Worcester.

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