Thursday, September 26, 2002
By Bronislaus B. Kush
Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER-- Just a few years ago, the Elm Park neighborhood was pockmarked with rundown, old houses, which served as bases of operation for drug dealers, fences and other criminal types.

The area has been vastly transformed, thanks to public-private partnerships that managed to rehabilitate many of those dilapidated structures into affordable housing units.

Yesterday, three more blighted properties were targeted for restoration.

With the financing now in place, Worcester Community Housing Resources has begun work to renovate structures at 114 Elm St., 142 Elm St. and 16 West St. into 15 two- and three-bedroom condominiums ranging in price from $58,000 to $90,000.

Peter S. Fellenz, Worcester Community Housing Resources president, said the properties will be offered for sale next summer to buyers who meet income-eligibility guidelines.

"People are always asking, 'Why don't you fix up those crappy places?' " said Mr. Fellenz. "But it's not easy. It takes time and a lot of money. Fortunately, we've been able to undertake these projects."

Once the properties are fixed, the Worcester Community Housing Resources plans to sell them as condominiums, allowing more individuals to become first-time home buyers. In the past, the organization sold multiunit structures to a person who rented out the apartments.

"The city strongly backs WCHR's condo strategy," said City Manager Thomas R. Hoover, noting that approach will help ease Worcester's housing crunch. "It keeps home ownership dreams alive when Worcester is becoming one of the hottest home-buying markets in the nation."

John Miller, chairman of the Worcester Community Housing Resources Development Committee, said the new homeowners, unlike absentee landlords, would have "a stake" in the neighborhood and city.

The city's Executive Office of Neighborhood Services has earmarked $480,000 in federal HOME funding for the projects, and the state Department of Housing and Community Development has matched City Hall's commitments.

Fleet Bank has provided $1.1 million in construction financing, as well as $20,000 for predevelopment work.

Mr. Miller said it took planners about a year-and-a-half of work to put a plan and the financing together. Activists actually have been talking with the Worcester Community Housing Resources and city officials for years, trying to get the properties renovated.

"There have been many hurdles and challenges," said Mr. Miller.

James Connolly, president of the Elm Park/PREP+ Neighborhood Inc., said residents have been successful in turning around the area -- one project at a time -- because of the partnerships forged with the city and organizations such as the Worcester Community Housing Resources.

Local preservationists said all three buildings to be restored are historically significant.

The three-decker at 142 Elm St. was built between 1904 and 1906.

Known as the Bowker Chase House, it's part of the Elm Street Three-decker Historic District. It was turned into a six-unit building about 40 years ago and has been characterized as the best example of Victorian Revival architecture in the city.

Meanwhile, the Daniel Howard House at 16 West St., which was built in the 1890s, has been vacant for years and features an circular main stairway original to the structure.

The three-unit Howard House has been listed on Preservation Worcester's "10 Most Endangered Historic Homes" list.

The three-story building at 114 Elm St. has been an eyesore for some time and was damaged by fire about three years ago.
It's attached to a parcel that once was the site of two other three-deckers.

Area residents were so upset about the condition of those two buildings that they successfully petitioned the city to raze them.

All three buildings targeted for rehab by the Worcester Community Housing Resources will get new wiring, plumbing, heating systems and exteriors.

The mission of Worcester Community Housing Resources is to create affordable housing and to promote neighborhood revitalization in the Worcester area.

Since 1993, it has been involved in a number of projects in the King Street and Elm Park neighborhoods and is working on a plan that includes restoration of the Chestnut Street Church and construction of a nearby 150-unit apartment building.
"It's no secret that times are tough," said Ann Flynn, chairwoman of Worcester Community Housing Resources board, noting people are scrambling to find affordable housing in Worcester.

She promised that the organization will aggressively continue to find "derelict" properties that may be renovated. She said the Worcester Community Housing Resources is also available to help individuals and agencies get loans to help with projects.

Interested buyers should call (508) 799-0322, Ext. 103, for specific information. Mr. Fellenz said he hopes the Worcester Community Housing Resources will be able to recoup half its investment when the properties under renovation are sold.