Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | September 2, 2024 | wbjournal.com I N B R I E F New owner "I love what I do. I love my employees, and I feel that love reciprocated. So with that, I'm just going to take it as it comes." Caitlyn Correia, owner and CEO of BlueHive Exhibits in Worcester, who assumed her positions on July 31 following the retirement of her father Paul Hanlon, BlueHive founder and former CEO C-suite appointment "Living so close to our five campuses gives me the opportunity to directly connect and communicate with our current and future residents and their families." Susan Dooley on her new role as chief marketing officer at SALMON Health and Retirement in Milford $3.15M purchase "It just felt right for our people, and it's an investment in the community. We're extremely committed to being a Worcester- headquartered bank." Seth Pitts, president and CEO of Bay State Savings Bank, on the Worcester bank's $3.15 million purchase of the former site of the Becker College Boutin Center to further expand its presence throughout the city BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Staff Writer W orcester Polytechnic Institute on Aug. 26 re-asserted its plans to buy two Worcester hotels from a New York asset management firm and convert them into student housing, despite an increasingly loud public pressure cam- paign against the move In a letter addressed to the WPI com- munity, the university said the decision to convert the Gateway Park hotels into housing is the result of a multi- year effort to address student housing shortages, a situation the university says has been made worse by the city's tight housing market. Both hotels – the Hampton Inn & Suites at 65 Prescott St. and the Court- yard by Marriott at 72 Grove St. – will continue to operate at their current capacity until 2026, at which point the 100-room Hampton Inn will be convert- ed to student housing; WPI expects the 134-room Courtyard Marriott to operate as a hotel through at least 2030, accord- ing to the letter signed by WPI Execu- tive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Michael Horan and Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Philip Clay. "Many of you live in the city and therefore know that the Worcester housing market is extremely tight, with ever-increasing apartment rents and a vacancy rate of 1.7%, one of the lowest WPI moving forward with plans to buy hotels for student housing, as Worcester officials ramp up pressure WPI is looking to purchase the Hampton Inn & Suites and the Courtyard by Marriott in the Gateway Park area of Worcester. in the country," the letter reads. "is situation puts considerable strain on our students' ability to find affordable hous- ing and adds pressure to the city's hous- ing crunch. Our plans to increase our on-campus housing will not only help our students, it will also create space in the market for families and other renters impacted by the housing shortage." e WPI letter comes aer the city's Economic Development Coordinating Council, a behind-the-scenes organiza- tion made up of government and busi- ness officials, wrote a letter to WPI and began a public effort in opposition to WPI's plans. e EDCC's primary con- cern was the loss of hotel excise tax rev- enue from and the property tax from the land, as WPI is a nonprofit not required to pay property taxes. EDCC estimated the City of Worcester would lose about $1.6 million in annual revenues. WPI said in its letter both hotels will pay property and hotel taxes for as long as they operate as hotels. e university does not foresee any loss of jobs for those employed at the hotels, and the current management company will be retained. e letter outlined the univer- sity's 159-year relationship with the City of Worcester, referencing the $9 million it has been paid to Worcester in lieu of taxes as part of a 2009 agreement. A number of orders related to WPI's plan were filed by Worcester City Coun- cil members ahead of the body's Aug. W PHOTO | ERIC CASEY 27 meeting, as detractors of the hotel conversion have applied public pressure encouraging WPI to ax the proposal. Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty is re- questing City Manager Eric Batista com- pile a report detailing how WPI's plan will impact the city. Petty is requesting the report to include details on the history of the Gateway Park project and any agreements the city has made with the two impacted hotels. Councilor Moe Bergman is asking for a report on any agreements between the City and WPI regarding Gateway Park, as well as details on the university's pay- ment in lieu of taxes agreement and any legal recourse the City may have. Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson is requesting a report on the ramifications of the purchase on the city's tourism and if there's any conditions to allow the City to tax a property owned by a university. Councilor Etel Haxhiaj is asking for a report detailing property purchased by the city's universities since 2019, asking for details on whether these properties were kept on the tax roll. e two hotels involved in WPI's plan were both purchased in October 2017 by Breit Mass Property Owner LLC, a Chicago-based entity operated by Blackstone, a prominent asset manage- ment firm based in New York City, for a combined $29.76 million. WPI has requested $26 million in state bonds to help fund the conversion project, according to the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency.

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