Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com • Worcester Business Journal • 2 018 Economic Forecast 21 Slow & steady T he trends are going in the right direction for home- owners: an increase in prices and a sharp drop this year in foreclosures, both in Central Massachusetts and across the state. A tight supply market means finding a home is more difficult. Without a major change on the hori- zon to affect prices – such as a signifi- cant economic downturn or an unprec- edented building boom – 2018 appears likely to see the same storylines as 2017. Higher and higher prices Single-family homes Worcester County were selling at an average of $259,000 through the first 10 months of the year, a jump of 5.7 percent over the same period in 2016. The market remains tight, though. The number of sales for the year increased only by 1.5 percent. There may be a reprieve on the hori- zon, if it comes soon enough. Gov. Charlie Baker announced in December his Housing Choice Initiative, calling for 135,000 new housing units by 2025. Major foreclosure decrease Through October, foreclosure peti- $53M proposal chosen for vacant courthouse T he former Worcester County Courthouse has been vacant for about a decade, but potentially for not too much longer. A $53-million project with 125 apart- ment units and retail from Boston- based Trinity Financial was chosen by the city in June to help revitalize the city's Lincoln Square area. The Worcester County Courthouse site is proposed to be reborn as the Courthouse Lofts, with its 125 units Top real estate stories of 2017 A tight housing market continues to push prices next year while downtown visions will be realized R E A L E S TAT E BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor split evenly between market-rate and affordable units. Several retail spaces are also envisioned. Work is slated to begin in the fall of 2018 and be complete by 2020. Trinity bought the 4.3-acre courthouse site from the city for $1.3 million. Trinity principal Patrick Lee said he hadn't been to Worcester for several years and was impressed by the city. He said Trinity was attracted to the site because of its historical character and development potential. It is the firm's first project in the city. tions – the first step in the foreclosure process – were down in Worcester County by 22 percent. Foreclosure auctions and deeds are also down for the year. Petitions for foreclosures fell in nine of the first 10 months of the year, with October having the largest year-over- year decline, according to Boston real estate informatoin firm The Warren Group. October brought foreclosure petitions down to the lowest level since February 2014. A realization of downtown Worcester Much of the development envisioned to take the footprint of the former Worcester Galleria mall has come to fruition, including a reborn Mercantile Center office tower and Saint Vincent Cancer & Wellness Center. But the type of development getting Construction crews have been working more than a year on the 145 Front St. mixed-use develop- ment in Worcester, with the first apart- ments set to hit the market in 2018. people the most excited, such as new neighborhood residents and restaurants, will finally become reality in 2018. A 170-room AC Hotel is slated to open in March, around the same time that the first of 365 residential units open at the adjacent 145 Front at City Square development. The hotel will feature a 110 Grill and the apartment building a location by the healthy-eating restaurant chain Protein House. Restaurant space is also available at Mercantile Center, and just on the other side of the Worcester Common at the Grid District, a beer garden could open by March, and Stix, an Asian noodle restaurant next door by October. Continued on Page 22 The Emerson Green housing development in Devens will eventually grow to 124 homes. A rendering of Trinity Financial's proposal for the former Worcester County Courthouse W

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