WORCESTER – Some of Worcester’s business and political leaders are opposing Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s plan to buy two city hotels to convert into student housing, saying the move could significantly impact the city’s tax revenue and is inconsistent with the intended goals of the multimillion-dollar Gateway Park project.
In a letter dated Friday from Worcester’s Economic Development Coordinating Council to WPI President Grace Wang and the chair of the institute’s board of trustees, the school was reprimanded for its intention to purchase the Hampton Inn & Suites at 65 Prescott Street and the Courtyard Marriott at 72 Grove Street.
The hotels are part of the 55-acre Gateway Park project, which used about $170 million in public and private funds to clean up contaminated land and rehabilitate old industrial buildings to create a mixed-use development that also houses WPI’s 125,000-square-foot Center for Life Sciences and Bioengineering.
“At no point was the Gateway Park project about using public funds solely for WPI’s campus expansion or student housing needs, removing property from the city’s tax rolls and placing additional burdens on Worcester’s residential and commercial taxpayers,” said the letter signed by Mayor Joseph M. Petty, City Manager Eric D. Batista and Tim Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce.
According to Worcester’s Economic Development Coordinating Council, Worcester could lose $780,000 annually in local property taxes and more than $850,000 in annual hotel and motel tax revenue. In addition, 100 jobs would be lost if the hotels close and 25% of local hotel room capacity would be eliminated, hurting Worcester’s ability to accommodate visitors who come to town for business and entertainment.
Batista’s office declined an interview request but released a statement from the city manager emphasizing the negative impact removing the two hotels from the tax rolls would have on the city’s budget.
“The hotel industry is a vital part of the city’s economy. Its tax revenues are a critical part of the city’s budget, contributing to both annual property tax revenues and hotel and meal tax revenues. These funds are key to investments in public works, safety and facilities, including Worcester Public Schools and other municipal services.
“As the city grows, we need to expand our hotel offerings to meet the demands of conventions, tournaments and large entertainment events. Gateway Park is an incredibly important mixed-use district that creates jobs and increases Worcester’s tax revenue. It is imperative that it remains a center of economic development.”
“I’m pretty upset about the whole thing,” said Petty, who learned a week ago of WPI’s intention to buy the hotels. Batista is scheduled to meet with WPI officials this week, said Petty, who will not attend the meeting because he is in Chicago attending the Democratic National Convention. “Hopefully we can convince (WPI) not to go through with it. I have a feeling they’re going ahead with it.”
“Incredibly disappointing,” Murray said of WPI’s desire to buy the hotels. “The way WPI leadership has approached this is a travesty… it almost feels like WPI has tried to deceive people about their intentions.”
Other signatures on the letter include Craig Blais, president and CEO of Worcester Business Development Corporation, and Jon Weaver, president and CEO of Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives.
Not only would the potential purchase of the two hotels reduce the city’s tax revenue – one reason why significant public and private money has been invested in Gateway Park – Weaver said, but there is also little land left in Worcester where local biotechnology companies could build the facilities they need.
That situation is made even more difficult, Weaver said, because the two hotels could now be converted into student housing and WPI recently purchased a building at 50 Prescott St. to expand its life sciences and bioengineering center. These developments mean that available land for local biotech expansion is only getting more scarce.
WPI has the right to buy the hotels, Weaver said, but whether it is doing so in good faith, taking into account the community partnerships and legacy of the Gateway Park project, is “a question mark,” he said.
WPI declined to comment. The college would use $26 million in state-issued bonds to buy and remodel the Hampton Inn & Suites, according to a public hearing notice issued last month by the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency. The hearing was scheduled for Aug. 6.
The Worcester Historical Commission will be asked to comment on WPI’s plans for 65 Prescott St., according to the agenda for Thursday night’s commission meeting.
The letter from Worcester’s Economic Development Coordinating Council said stakeholders were “stunned” by the news of WPI’s intention to purchase the hotels for student housing, and said the move conflicts with the project’s intent to create jobs and increase tax revenue for the city.
“WPI’s lack of fidelity to the shared mission, vision and history of the Gateway Park project, which has existed for nearly 20 years, is troubling and will have serious implications that will significantly complicate future partnerships with higher education institutions in Worcester,” the letter said.
Meanwhile, WPI already has student housing as part of the Gateway project, the letter says, including at 10 Faraday St. The parties have also been in discussions in recent months about a new WPI dormitory on WPI-owned land on Institute Road and a possible partnership with a private developer to build student housing next to Gateway Park.
The talks also included a possible facility for student housing and academic research on the WPI site at the corner of Park Avenue and Sagamore Road, the letter said.
The letter described WPI’s decision not to purchase the former Becker College dormitories, which would have housed more than 200 students, as “confusing.” WPI also declined to take over leases from Becker, which would have housed an additional 245 students. Purchasing the properties would have cost WPI $3.8 million, the letter said.
Contact Henry Schwan at [email protected]. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram.
