by Darnell Dunn, Director of Business Recruitment, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce
According to Redfin’s housing data, the median price of a single-family home in Massachusetts exceeded $600,000, nearly tripling since 2000.
At approximately $86,000 per year, Massachusetts ranks number one in the nation in per capita income, and yet, access to affordable housing continues to be out of reach for too many working-age residents of the Commonwealth.
Lack of affordable housing stock has been one of the main drivers of outmigration. Massachusetts experienced a net loss of about 40,000 people in 2023, all of whom moved to another state. If not for international immigration, the State’s population and workforce would have declined.
Even more troubling is the trend of individuals and families who left. In taking a closer look at outmigration data, it was those in knowledge-based industries like life sciences, technology, and professional services, industries that tended to pull median incomes in the Commonwealth upward, were more likely to be out-movers than those without a degree, outpacing those in lower-paying service industries.
Over the past year, the Healey-Driscoll Administration has made housing a top priority through the implementation of several key initiatives aimed at facilitating the creation of more housing stock across the income spectrum. Most notably, the signing of the Affordable Homes Act in August of last year which authorized $5.16b in spending over the next 5 years along with 49 policy initiatives to counter rising housing costs.
In Worcester, there are roughly 1,600 new units under construction with a healthy mix of affordable, mixed-income, market-rate, and senior housing.
Developing and investing in multi-family real estate properties for over 30 years, SMC Management Corporation out of Watertown, MA is currently building 210 units of market-rate housing in the Poet Hill neighborhood of Worcester.
No stranger to Worcester, WinnDevelopment is undertaking the redevelopment of the historic Lincoln Square Boys and Girls Club and turning the building and surrounding land into 80 affordable apartment homes for adults 55 and older. The $51 million project will preserve and renovate the current 94-year-old building creating 16 apartment homes and a variety of community spaces and additionally will build a brand new five-story apartment building alongside it to house 64 new apartments. The two buildings will be connected on the ground floor by a single-story glass walkway.
Boston-based Synergy Investments, recently broke ground at the former Fallon Health building at Chestnut Place on the largest office-to-multifamily conversion in the Commonwealth. Acquired in March 2023 for $10.5 million, the property will consist of 198 apartments, which will include a mix of studios, 1 & 2 bedrooms.
Leveraging the State’s Commonwealth Builder Program, the neighboring four-story building next to the former Fallon building will also be converted to include 22 affordable condos, offering homeownership opportunities to populations that have long been priced out of the market.
Recently approved mixed-income residential development projects in the pipeline include 44 units at 57 Exchange Street, also known as One Exchange, a place that housed the Firehouse Café and Michael’s Cigar Bar, 204 Main Street, slated for 20 units above the Garden Fresh Courthouse Café, and 39 Lamartine Street, a 36 unit project that straddles the Canal District and Green Island neighborhoods, the city of Worcester is focused on creating much-needed supply in one of the fastest growing city in Massachusetts.
