Action urged on former Big D market site on Mill Street by city councilor, candidate

WORCESTER — For two decades one particular vacant Mill Street property has been a recurring gripe of city councilors and nearby residents.

The former site of a Big D and Price Chopper supermarket at 195 Mill St. remains a small island as it sits near a church, several businesses and a series of single-family homes. The property is connected to a street where the city is undergoing a much-discussed resurfacing project.

Also nearby is the historic Stearns Tavern, Coes Park playground and a boardwalk on Coes Pond.

At 195 Mill St., the parking lot is now empty with abundant greenery growing from cracks. While a leasing sign remains visible on the front of the building, the light brown façade has been significantly chipped away and company logos are long gone.

While 195 Mill St. may be vacant, it has remained present in the minds of city councilors past and present.

In recent months the incumbent District 5 city councilor and an opponent have called for action to encourage redevelopment.

In December, District 5 City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj asked the city administration to look into whether the property should be designated an Urban Center Housing Tax Increment Financing zone. The City Council approved Haxhiaj's order.

The state Urban Center Housing TIF Program allows cities and towns to promote housing and commercial development by providing real estate exemptions on all or part of the increased value of real estate. The program can be used to create affordable housing along with commercial opportunities.

At the time, Haxhiaj said the status quo approach to the development has not yielded any results. She also said the site has been a neighborhood blight as well as a site for illegal dumping and police calls.

'Holding this property hostage'

On Thursday, Haxhiaj told the Telegram & Gazette the ownership is "holding this property hostage."

On Wednesday, District 5 candidate Jose Rivera announced he sent a letter to City Manager Eric Batista calling for something similar to downtown's 2016 urban revitalization plan for 195 Mill St.

In his letter, Rivera said the creation of such a plan would allow for the Worcester Redevelopment Authority to use eminent domain as a tool to encourage development.

Eminent domain usually refers to the power of a government entity to take private property for public use, following the payment of just compensation.

"I believe there is a tool in the city’s toolbox that could help. Eminent domain could either lead to the city prying this land from the developer’s hands and pursuing a new future for it or compel the owner to finally do the right thing and sell or develop it into something from which the community and city can benefit," Rivera wrote.

Sam Adams, a real estate developer in Shrewsbury who is the manager of Worcester Mill LLC, the entity that owns 195 Mill St., largely declined to provide an update on the latest with the property.

Adams did say the suggestion of using eminent domain on the property was a "ludicrous concept" as the property is current on its taxes.

In 2021, Adams said he believed a "high-density" residential project was the best use of the site.

Zoning changes move forward

In June, the city administration also recommended zoning changes to the zoning map for the Mill Street and Coes Pond area that contains 195 Mill St.

Peter Dunn, the city's chief development officer, said the zoning district would be rezoned from a business limited district to a business general district.

Dunn said the current zoning only allows for the building of three-story residential buildings, and past residential proposals have called for larger buildings with a 2.0 floor area ratio.

"Almost every proposal that we've either heard about or talked about in terms of potential residential use is four stories or more," Dunn said.

After the City Council voted to send the proposed changes to the map to the city Planning Board, the board approved the change on Wednesday. Dunn said the zoning changes will go to the City Council's Standing Committee on Economic Development before later going to the full council if it gets a go-ahead in the standing committee.

Dunn expected the zoning change to go before the City Council in September.

Dunn said he had been in contact with Adams over the past couple of months when the city was developing the zoning changes.

According to Dunn, it appears that Adams was looking at two potential avenues: redeveloping the project themselves or a potential sale of the property.

Dunn believes Adams awarded a contract for the demolition of the building.

"There hasn't been any scenario of trying to use the existing buildings," Dunn said. "Moving forward with the demolition of the building will just continue to prepare the site for its future use."

Real estate websites state a listing for 195 Mill St. created in June 2022 is no longer active.

In a Thursday interview with the T&G, Rivera said he felt the property has been vacant long enough

"I just feel like 20 years is long enough, just letting a decaying property sit there," Rivera said. "It's an eyesore to the community, it's an eyesore to the neighborhood. And I just feel like we need something to happen."

He said he hoped a developer could build affordable housing on the property.

Beyond an 'eyesore' - opportunities missed

Haxhiaj said Thursday 195 Mill St. goes beyond an "eyesore" and represents years of lost redevelopment opportunities.

"I'm equally frustrated with the property having been vacant for so long," Haxhiaj said.

Haxhiaj said she preferred a higher-density mixed-use development of the property, something that could blend multiple uses such as commercial and residential. She said residents have brought up a grocery store as a potential commercial space that would be welcomed.

Both candidates say Mill Street residents have expressed concerns about the property: Rivera said resident questions spurred him to send the letter to Batista and Haxhiaj said Mill Street residents unanimously felt frustrated with the vacancy during a meeting last year.

On creating an urban revitalization plan for the property, Dunn said the city has not looked at this approach as there are a number of steps of establishing a plan and such a plan is not usually done on a site-specific basis.

Dunn added establishing the 2016 plan took a few years, so establishing one for 195 Mill St. would be a lengthy process.

While the site might not currently be being used in the best way, Dunn said eminent domain of a private property is something the city treats carefully.

"That's not something that we wield in a loose manner, that's a pretty significant undertaking," Dunn said. "It is a private property that is currently in compliance with its tax obligations."

Dunn said the city does what it can with talking to property owners about facilitating development.

On a Thursday appearance of the radio show Talk of the Commonwealth, Batista told host Hank Stolz eminent domain is not easy by design to limit government overreach.

Eminent domain last possible approach

Rivera said he knows what he called for would be a process but exploring the option could add another "tool in the toolbox." He said eminent domain should be the last possible approach taken.

Rivera said he is happy Batista is talking about the property.

"(Batista) bringing it up and talking about the complexity of the situation right now just shows that it's being talked about, that it's being looked at," Rivera said. "There's probably some plans in the works, and that's what we need. We need something to get started on this process."

Rivera said he cannot guarantee that talks about doing something with 195 Mill St. will be different from past efforts; he hopes the attention can spur Adams to do something.

When asked if the city needs to take a different approach to 195 Mill St., Rivera said he trusts the administration.

"I'm going to trust the administration with what they're doing," Rivera said. "I would like to give them some time to see what is done. I'm not going to say they should change anything, they should do this, they should do that. I'm just glad that it's being talked about."

Haxhiaj said she has been asking what economic pressures the city can put on the owners, including asking Mayor Joseph Petty to call Adams and an order she submitted in January asking for a vacant properties tax, which was not approved by the City Council.

"Even though Sam Adams is paying his property taxes, the fact is that property remains a blight," Haxhiaj said. "It still draws resources."

She said she has talked to Batista about the potential for a Transformative Development Initiative district for the area. Haxhiaj added she has talked to Batista about revitalizing not just Mill Street but the Webster Square area.

However, Haxhiaj that the city needs to follow through with the steps it has already taken for 195 Mill St. and is "wary" of changing that plan.

Haxhiaj said she hoped to see the administration return with a report on her order about the TIF by the end of summer.

However, Dunn said the city tends to attach TIFs to properties where there is a specific redevelopment project, and he did not see an "imminent" plan for the implementation of a TIF for 195 Mill St. from the administration.

Dunn also said he was unsure if putting a TIF on the table at this stage would be a solution to why 195 Mill St. is not being developed, saying the city has considered TIFs where properties have conditions that dampen developer interest.

Over the years, Dunn said he has seen a "healthy interest" from developers in redeveloping 195 Mill St., saying its proximity to locations such as Stearns Tavern and the playground make it an attractive location.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Etej Haxhiaj, Jose Rivera urge action on former Worcester Big D site