Worcester Vs. New York: Development on the Rise

Worcester’s new real estate projects show great promise for the growing city. Once industrial and specializing in the manufacturing of textiles, the city is now experiencing a period of intense renovation. Hundreds of individual apartments are under construction, retail locations are being established, restaurants are attracting customers, and Worcester is growing as a city. The expansion of new infrastructure means that Worcester will be able to house millennials going into the workforce, who are looking to thrive in a livable city environment that is a reasonable alternative to Boston. While Worcester matures and becomes a more vibrant urban destination, I thought it would be fun to compare it to New York City. For years, NYC has boasted streets bursting with young adults, whether in college, or in the workforce. Like Worcester today, New York is in a state of never-ending construction. The endless building that are staples to the New York way of life, is however, somewhat foreign to the streets of Worcester that have only recently experienced more intense construction. However different, the various luxury skyscraper apartments that bless New York’s skyline, are to the less extravagant, more redone industrial buildings located in Worcester, they both exert a powerful lust to drive a young crowd back to their streets. Although New York does already have an incredibly lively scene full of all sorts of different characters, the city still needs to keep the new generations coming in because those people will be the ones running the world in the future. Similar to Worcester, New York turns to the development of new housing, different restaurants, and even retail in order to attract newer, younger residents.

Construction of new luxury condominiums located in Murray Hill, NYC may look different to the luxury apartments that grace 8 Grafton Street in Worcester. 30 East 31st Street, in Manhattan, is a luxury condominium building located in the area of Murray Hill. The building is being designed by the Morris Adjmi Architect Group who specialize in the revitalization of post-industrial neighborhoods and historic districts with commercial, residential and cultural projects. The 42 unit building, which offers incredible views of the Empire State Building and South Manhattan, is set for completion in the summer of 2018, and has amenities like a lounge, exercise facility, and a garden. It will stand 40 stories tall and have distinct Neo-Gothic architecture style, apparent in the latticed façade. In terms of availability, 30 East 31st Street has several apartments left, the cheapest being 866 square feet at a cost of 1.75 million dollars. At about 2,021 dollars per square foot, this apartment is most certainly pricier than its counterparts in Worcester.  

The Edge at Union Station, is a newly completed apartment complex located at 8 Grafton Street in Worcester. The apartments are in Downtown Worcester, in an area known as the Canal District that has reaped the rewards of Worcester’s revitalization with the addition of numerous restaurants and other retail space. This neighborhood targets a younger crowd of students from the nearby colleges. It also has a market of young people in the workforce who travel to and from Boston everyday. Located directly next to historic Union Station, residents who need to commute to Boston in the morning have a perfect solution to the otherwise grueling trip. The building itself is a re-developed manufacturing building originally constructed in 1914 as a facility for building rail cars. The building comes with all inclusive amenities including multiple common areas like video game room, billiards and arcade room, business center, and even an exercise facility. In terms of price, for a one bedroom apartment with anywhere from 625-865 square feet rent starts at 1,480 dollars.

While these two buildings, one in NYC and the other in Worcester, seem drastically different at first sight, they both suggest the future directions in which their neighborhoods are developing. Murray Hill, in Manhattan, is rapidly attracting younger people who are in the market for a nice apartment, as well as older people who are settling New York City permanently. In Worcester, the Edge at Union Station reflects the growing population of young adults either in college or new to the workforce. Whether in the Big Apple or the WOO, you can expect that the demand for apartments that offer  lifestyle amenities to continue to rise.