Abandoned Worcester Sub Shop May Kickstart Rebirth Of West Boylston Street

WORCESTER, MA — If you've driven down West Boylston Street over the last seven or so years, you've probably noticed that ugly abandoned building covered in tattered building wrap surrounded by weeds.

But the days may be numbered for the former D'Angelo's sub shop near the corner of Andover Street.

A pair of local developers want to use the parcel to build a five-story, 28-unit affordable condominium building. The building could be the gateway to a rebirth of West Boylston Street to make the corridor more friendly for pedestrians, and more friendly on the eyes.

The developer 342 West Boylston LLC — managed by local developers Steven Rothschild and Jackson Restrepo — is asking the city to approve a zoning change for the property to add a Commercial Corridor Overlay District (CCOD). The goal of that type of district is to make a given area less car-centric by allowing for increased residential density and lower parking requirements. Inside the district, new residential buildings are required to provide 1.1 parking spaces per-unit compared to the 1-1/2-space requirement in many other parts of the city. The CCOD also prohibits the construction of single-family homes, and businesses like auto repair shops.

The CCOD encourages "compact, pedestrian friendly development that is physically and functionally integrated through site design, dimensional and parking standards that limit parking, provide flexibility for development initiatives and provide incentives for mixed-use development," according to the city. The district is also in line with the findings of the recent Worcester Now | Next plan.

If the Worcester City Council approves the district, it would be the first one north of Institute Park, and the first in the slice of Worcester north of I-290 and east of I-190. The district would be small, however, only limited to the 342 West Boylston property that contains the abandoned D'Angelo's.

The district would be part of a larger renovation of West Boylston Street, which is lined with older storefronts at the south end, with parking lot-oriented businesses toward the main Quinsigamond Community College entrance.

Alongside the condo proposal, the Worcester Business Development Corp. is pursuing the redevelopment of a portion of the St. Gobain campus. The WBDC is also studying a much larger area of Greendale for revitalization, including the West Boylston Street corridor from just north of the D'Angelo's property to Mountain Street.

Restrepo and Rothschild appeared at Wednesday's Worcester Planning Board meeting to discuss their request for the overlay district. The board unanimously recommended allowing the overlay, and the proposal will next go to the city council for full approval.