In June 2017, Trinity Financial, a community-driven, diverse real estate development firm with a proven track record of redeveloping complex urban sites from New York to Greater Boston, announced that they were selected by the City of Worcester as developers for the former Worcester County Courthouse. Proposed plans for the currently vacant courthouse include approximately 114 new units of residential housing and ancillary amenity space, with half of the units rented at market rates and the remaining units designated for workforce housing with a creative economy focus. The development will include the historic rehabilitation and preservation of the former courthouse. Construction is expected to begin the first quarter of 2019.
The total development cost of the project is expected to be approximately $53 million, financed primarily with historic tax credit equity, private debt, and other sources.
The former Worcester County Courthouse is a key component of the ongoing revitalization of Lincoln Square. The structure consists of approximately 246,252 square feet of gross building area located on 4.28 acres in the North Main Street area of Downtown Worcester. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of an Institutional District (NRHP District No. 80000554). Built in the Greek Revival/Traditional Revival style, the oldest section of the old Worcester County Courthouse dates back to 1843, with several additions since that time including 1878, 1898-1899, and an annex built in 1954 to accommodate the Central District Court. All court-related activities moved to a new facility in downtown Worcester in 2007, leaving the building vacant.
