More than three years after acquiring a sprawling piece of Worcester’s industrial past, the Worcester Business Development Corporation is beginning the infrastructure work it says helps turn the former Saint-Gobain campus into a new center for manufacturing, technology and commercial development.
WBDC broke ground Thursday on the first phase of roadway and utility improvements at GreenTech Park, a 51-acre site off Interstate 190. The work is backed by $12.8 million in public funding and is intended to create development-ready parcels while eventually restoring a roadway connection between the Indian Hill and Burncoat neighborhoods.
WBDC acquired the property in November 2022 and has been working with the city, Saint-Gobain and other stakeholders on redevelopment plans for the former industrial campus, which was once home to Norton Company and later Saint-Gobain Abrasives.
The first phase reconstructs a roadway and upgrade utilities needed to support future development. The work is designed to create “pad-ready” sites that can accommodate new construction, with WBDC targeting advanced manufacturing and technology companies for much of the property.
The infrastructure improvements will also create public access through the campus, restoring an east-west connection between the Indian Hill and Burncoat neighborhoods.
“These infrastructure improvements are the foundation for everything we envision at GreenTech Park,” WBDC President Craig Blais said in a statement. “This public investment demonstrates the confidence that our federal, state and local partners have in this project and in Worcester’s ability to attract the next generation of advanced manufacturing and technology companies.”
Funding for the infrastructure work comes from several federal and state sources, including the state’s MassWorks program, Massachusetts Department of Transportation, U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Public Works program and MassDevelopment’s Site Readiness Program.
Nearly $8 million in federal funding has been directed toward the project, according to U.S. Sen. Edward Markey.
“GreenTech Park represents one million square feet of new economic opportunity for a new generation in Worcester,” Markey said in the WBDC release. “I am proud to have partnered with my colleagues Congressman Jim McGovern and Senator Elizabeth Warren to support nearly $8 million in federal investment to move this project forward.”
The next phase of infrastructure work will focus on New Bond Street and continue efforts to restore public connections through the former industrial campus. That work is being supported by federal Congressionally Directed Spending earmarks and MassWorks funding.
First tenant moving forward
The infrastructure work comes as GreenTech Park prepares for its first commercial tenant.
Restaurant Depot recently completed local permitting for an approximately 50,000-square-foot facility at the site. The wholesale foodservice supplier is expected to break ground this year and become GreenTech Park’s first tenant.
The Worcester Planning Board unanimously approved the company’s definitive site plan in July. Plans call for the warehouse to occupy a four-acre lot with 171 parking spaces and five loading bays.
WBDC ultimately envisions roughly 1 million square feet of new development at GreenTech Park. Individual parcels are being marketed to accommodate buildings ranging from approximately 60,000 to 450,000 square feet.
The site sits at a full interchange along Interstate 190, a location WBDC hopes will help attract companies as redevelopment progresses.
For Worcester, the project also represents another reinvention of a property that played a major role in the city’s manufacturing history.
Norton Company, founded in Worcester in the 19th century, grew into a major manufacturer of abrasives and became one of the city’s largest industrial employers. Saint-Gobain acquired Norton in 1990.
Now, decades after generations of Worcester workers passed through the campus, the first roads and utilities for its next incarnation are going into the ground.
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