Central Mass. by the Numbers

Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Piccadilly Plaza on Shrewsbury Street.
Piccadilly Plaza on Shrewsbury Street.

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The two buildings at Piccadilly Plaza will remain, as the owners say they will pivot from past intentions to demolish them and instead relist the available space for rent. The change of heart comes after the city's Conservation Commission rejected the original plans by American East Coast II, which purchased the plaza in 2020 for $3.2 million, according to owner Dusty Burke. Dusty Burke III, Burke’s son, said that the ownership has now decided to renovate the property and bring in new tenants including a Brazilian steakhouse, Churrascaria Tropeiro’s Grill, and a fitness center called Sculpt Pilates.

AAA Northeast has purchased Costello's Auto Repair for $1.7 million.
AAA Northeast has purchased Costello's Auto Repair for $1.7 million.

$1.79M

AAA Northeast has purchased the former Costello's Truck Service & Repair property at 315-317 Southwest Cutoff. According to documents filed with the Worcester Registry of Deeds, AAA Northeast acquired the property for $1.79 million. AAA bought the property from a limited liability company known as ABS Real Estate managed by Costello's owner Robert Costello Jr. The deed was executed April 5. A spokesperson for AAA Northeast said AAA will use the property for a fleet facility for AAA vehicles. The facility will replace a leased fleet facility property in Millbury.

Red Sold For Sale Real Estate Sign in Front of House.
Red Sold For Sale Real Estate Sign in Front of House.

$580,000

Massachusetts home prices are setting records as demand continues to significantly outpace the inventory of houses for sale. The real estate analysts at The Warren Group reported Wednesday morning that $580,000 was the median price of the 2,563 single-family homes sold in the Bay State in March. That's a new all-time high for March and a 7.4% increase over the median price in March 2023. Meanwhile, the number of houses sold last month was down, also by 7.4%. In Worcester County, the median price for a single-family home was $433,000 for 361 sales, a $38,000 increase when compared with the same month last year, when 389 houses were sold.

The Canal District with, from left, Polar Park and Madison Street leading to Kelley Square and Green Street, Harding Street and Water Street.
The Canal District with, from left, Polar Park and Madison Street leading to Kelley Square and Green Street, Harding Street and Water Street.

21%

A report published by the Worcester Regional Research Bureau this month found that while commercial real estate made up 36.5% of all tax revenues in 2023, only 21% of the city’s parcels are taxed as commercial, industrial and personal properties. Of that percentage, there are 312 parcels in Worcester that are used primarily for office space, of which 221 are general office use. In fiscal 2023, downtown Worcester had 27 mixed-use, primarily residential parcels, 12 small retail parcels less than 10,000 square feet, 11 mixed-use, primarily commercial parcels, and nine as exclusively eating and drinking parcels.

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The rental market is hard everywhere, but the Worcester market is one of the hardest, according to a study by Forbes. Worcester is the third-worst rental market, Forbes said, after crunching data for the 75 most populous metros in the United States. "With extremely low vacancy rates and some of the worst availability of rental units, Worcester metro area renters are battling a tough rental market," Forbes said. A low availability of rentals is one of the reasons the Worcester rental market is so tough. With a rental vacancy of 1.7%, Worcester has the second-lowest vacancy rate. The average was 6.3%

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Central Mass. by the Numbers

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