WORCESTER — The Worcester Housing Authority is working with residents of Lakeside Apartments who will relocate during the planned redevelopment of the public housing complex.
A major overhaul is in the works with plans to raze all 202 units and rebuild with new units added, for a total of around 350 units. The project will include a mix of affordable apartments and condos carried out over four phases and is expected to take anywhere from five to 10 years with funding coming from multiple local, state and federal sources.
The project team is waiting to learn whether they will receive state funding this year for the first two phases. While the timeline of work depends on securing the funding, a vendor hired by the development team is currently working with residents to ensure their needs are met during a temporary relocation.
No work would begin until all residents affected by the first two phases are relocated.
Alex Corrales, CEO of the authority, said Friday that the team behind the redevelopment project applied for state funding for the first two phases of the four-step project.
"We're very eager for a decision from the state. We certainly have our fingers crossed that they select this project so we can begin the work," Corrales said. "At this stage of the game we're kind of on standby in terms of waiting on a decision from the state."
Tremont Development Partners LLC, formerly Boston Capital Development, and its partner E3 Development LLC, are conducting the multiphase redevelopment.
According to a March news release, the development team applied for state funding Feb. 15 for the first phases of the project.
The Housing Authority said in March that all necessary local and state approvals were secured for the first phase, which would create 116 apartment units in two buildings.
The March news release states demolition for the first phase is planned for the first quarter of 2025, with construction finishing by the summer of 2026, assuming funding is secured, with resident relocation possibly starting in June.
Construction of 28 condo units in multiple buildings for marketing to first-time homebuyers would begin concurrently with the first phase.
They will develop additional units in the later two phases.
If state funding is approved, Corrales said the next step is working with residents on relocation. He said the first two phases of the project would not begin until all affected residents are relocated, a process that could take several months with the city's short supply of available affordable housing.
"We don't have 50 to 60 apartments that are empty to be able to just move everybody at once," Corrales said. "We literally have to wait until a family moves out on their own or an apartment becomes vacant."
The Housing Authority has held meetings at Lakeside Apartments to inform residents about the process and is collecting information on the what needs residents would have for any unit they are relocated to.
"We've already met with the residents that are part of phase one, phase two, to collect the information that is necessary to do those assessments so we are able to work with them in a much faster pace to put them in their temporary relocation unit," Corrales said.
Tremont Development Partners and E3 Development LLC have a contract with Housing Opportunities Unlimited, a Boston-based relocation vendor. Housing Opportunities Unlimited employees are working with Lakeside residents to collect information such as whether they need wheelchair accessibility at a temporary unit or need assistance with packing.
The Housing Authority and developers will absorb the costs for the transfer of utilities, cable and internet.
Ideally, residents would be moved to another unit at Lakeside Apartments that is not subject to the first two phases to avoid disruption to their neighborhood connections or proximity to local schools.
The Housing Authority could also look at other apartments available throughout the city.
The project is part of the Resident Assistance Demonstration program that allows the Housing Authority to leverage future guaranteed rents and subsidies in order to secure loans needed for the project.
The Housing Authority also received a conditional commitment for a combined $2.9 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund's Board of Trustees for the first two construction phases in December.
Lakeside Apartments, dating to 1949, was built to serve as affordable housing for veterans under the state's post-World War II program. It is the authority's oldest apartment complex.
The additional rental units would also serve families on the housing authority's waitlist, Corrales said. The waitlist can take years for residents in need of public housing at the current number of units.
More than 30 wheelchair accessible units, or about 10% of the units, would be constructed as part of the project while the current complex only has two, Corrales said. The buildings would also all have fire sprinklers and elevators and the design includes constructing the width of doors to accommodate wheelchairs.
"There is nobody in the state doing (a) project like this," Corrales said. "We're the second largest city in New England. We've heard what the governor has said. She wants more housing. She wants more affordable housing."
Corrales also said a revitalized Lakeside Apartments will complete a transformation of the Coes Pond area that the city has undertaken in recent years.
A similar project to redevelop the authority's Curtis Apartments complex in Great Brook Valley is ongoing with the first phase underway with 65 residents relocated, 57 going to Worcester Housing Authority units.
The $355 million, four-phase project at Curtis Apartments will see 372 units torn down and 527 built.
Feb. 15, the authority and developer Trinity Financial submitted state funding requests for the second phase of the Curtis Apartments project.
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