Historic Elm Street Hogg House one step closer to becoming lodging house for WPI students

WORCESTER — An Elm Street house registered with the National Register of Historic Places has taken the next step to being reconverted into a 28-bed lodging house for Worcester Polytechnic Institute students.

On Thursday the License Commission approved its lodging-house license for 54 Elm St., known as the William James Hogg House.

At the License Commission hearing, a handful of residents who live near the house said they were not necessarily opposed to the property becoming a lodging house, but they worried that the live-in site managers would be WPI students.

The house is close to WPI's south campus, but the project is unaffiliated with the university.

According to Worcester Historical Museum archives, William James Hogg was one of the founders of the city's carpet industry in the late 19th century. His house was constructed in 1853 and altered in 1897. The property was added to the National Historic Places in 1980 as an example of Colonial architecture.

Prior to current plans, the house was on the market as a single-family home.

On June 26, the Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved special zoning permits to the proposed project. The Zoning Board had a previous hearing on June 5 where residents raised similar concerns about management, safety precautions and possible student conduct.

The Zoning Board approved the permits with special conditions related to the concerns neighbors gave.

Brian Falk, a lawyer for the Chicago-based property owners George Menninger and Ann Cheeseman, said all 14 of the prospective residents are WPI students with many being members of the university's cross-country team.

"The use presents an opportunity to preserve a historic property at 54 Elm St. without converting it into a multifamily, which would negatively impact the exterior and interior of this historic property, or turn it into a dormitory where the city would have little to no control or tax revenue."

Falk said the proposal would also expand student housing in the city, which is in demand with Clark University recently proposing to build seven stories of student housing at a Main Street block.

'Passion project'

Falk said this is a "passion project" for Menninger and Cheeseman, who saw the spot when they visited their son at WPI.

The proposed resident manager is a WPI student who is a former resident adviser at the university. Menninger and Cheeseman's son, a WPI student, would be a co-owner and secondary manager of the property.

Falk said the lodging rules have strict guidance on noise and parking for the benefit of neighbors, the building will have noise-canceling windows, exterior and interior cameras will be added and residents must access the house by keypad.

The house will have 12 onsite parking spaces, but Falk said the owners do not expect residents to use half of the parking spaces as the campus shuttle and public transportation are nearby.

The building has 25 bedrooms, with most being single-occupancy, 10 bathrooms, will have a kitchen upgraded to a commercial grade kitchen, and will have fire suppression sprinklers and new fire escape.

A group of neighbors said they appreciated the improvements being made to the house, but felt having college students as onsite managers, especially student athletes who will attend away games, was too much of a responsibility for the students.

Several referenced student mental and physical health issues at WPI, where six students have died in recent years.

"I feel that the management should have more maturity in running a facility which will house up to 28 young people," Frank Callahan, who lives at an apartment in 53 Elm St., said.

Members of the License Commission said an RA has the support of WPI and its resources and asked what support the student managers would have at the lodging house, Falk said the landlord's contact will be available to residents and the city and all residents are required to follow lodging rules.

Cheeseman said she and Menninger have had poor experiences with professional property managers and Menninger added he is assuming a serious liability with the house and has a strong interest in it going well.

The License Commission eventually approved the lodging license under the conditions the Zoning Board set out.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Hogg House on Elm Street may be lodging house for WPI students