WORCESTER—Worcester is adding 109 units to its housing stock with the redevelopment of the former Commerce High School on Sudbury Street, and it’s only one of several projects Rossi Development is working on in the city.
Rossi Development expects to bring at least 450 units of housing online in the city in the next few years, Anthony Rossi told the Worcester Guardian at the Sudbury Street ribbon cutting Friday.
The real estate development company’s projects include the creation of 12 units at a Walnut Street property that neighbors the 13 Sudbury St. property. Rossi said he decided to redevelop the Walnut Street property due to its poor condition and its proximity to the Sudbury Street property.
Rossi is already renting out property at the Sudbury Street location and said Friday he expects to get his occupancy permits for Walnut Street in the coming weeks. Ten units had already been rented at the Sudbury Street property as of Friday, according to Rossi.
Rossi is developing units in Worcester at a time when the city is experiencing a housing crisis. Worcester currently has a 0.5% rental vacancy rate which housing experts say is contributing to an increase in homelessness in the area.
The majority of the units in the Sudbury Street project are market rate, with rents ranging from $1,800 to $2,800 per month for studio, 1-bedroom, and 2-bedroom apartments. However, Rossi is working with Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance and the state to reserve all of the units in the Walnut Street property and several units at the Sudbury Street property for families with housing vouchers.
Housing vouchers allow those who qualify to only pay 30% of their net monthly income toward the rent, while the state pays the remainder of the rent.
When asked why he wanted to work with CMHA, Rossi said he gets involved in the communities where he has projects. When working with the city to get the project up and running, Rossi said city manager Eric Batista’s administration asked him to work with CMHA.
The 12 units in the Walnut Street property consists of 11 three-bedroom apartments and 1 two-bedroom apartment, according to Rossi. He is also looking to reserve two-bedroom apartments in the Sudbury Street location for people with housing vouchers.
Purchasing 13 Sudbury St. cost $3,050,000, according to Rossi, and the construction cost came in at well over $11 million. Rossi Development took out a construction loan through Rockland Trust.
Approximately $400,000 was applied to creating amenities in the building, including private fitness rooms, a gym with cardio equipment, a pet washing station, a video conference room, pickleball court, a dog park, a bike storage room, and shared laundry. The units come equipped with dishwashers, microwaves, refrigerators, stove tops, and ovens.
All of Rossi Development’s buildings have zero carbon emissions, according to Rossi. He said he personally worries about the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning if someone leaves the gas on and chooses to make all of his buildings electric. Utilities are included in the rent price.
Other projects Rossi Development is working on include redeveloping the former Table Talk building in the Canal District into 43 units of housing and 13,000 square feet of retail space, redeveloping buildings on Hermon Street into 66 units of housing – which will be online within 45 days, according to Rossi.
Rossi Development also purchased another building on Hermon Street and is looking to purchase another building near the former Table Talk. The real estate developer has also been approved to build a 260-unit building on a parking lot that neighbors the Sudbury Street property, but giving the current rates he said it is going to take time for that project to be completed and for now the 13 Sudbury St. and Walnut Street tenants will use the 200-space lot for parking.
Rossi Development is already responsible for redeveloping the J.H, and G.M. Walker Shoe Factor in the Canal District into a 62-unit apartment building.
At the Sudbury Street ribbon cutting on Friday, Batista thanked Rossi for his work, along with those in his administration that worked with Rossi, Rockland Trust and Worcester Business Development Corporation.
“It takes a lot of work to put these projects together and sometimes it takes multiple years to get it done and somehow you figured out how to get some of these projects up pretty quickly,” Batista said. “It means a lot to our city when we’re in a position where we need the supply of units to increase.”
Kiernan Dunlop is an award-winning journalist who has spent the past five years reporting in Worcester, New Bedford and Antigua and Barbuda. She’s been published in Bloomberg, USA Today, Canary Media, MassLive, and the New Bedford Standard Times, among other outlets. She can be contacted at kdunlop@theworcesterguardian.org
