Panel recommends two TIFs, three zoning changes

Other Committee · Meeting of September 16, 2026

WORCESTER — The Worcester Economic Development Subcommittee unanimously recommended two tax increment financing deals and approved three zoning map amendments. Peter Dunn, the city's head of economic development, said Worcester has "the eighth highest commercial tax rate in all of Massachusetts," framing a new TIF zone for a 30-acre advanced manufacturing park along Interstate 190 with exemptions of 35 to 50 percent for 10 to 15 years. The panel also backed an urban center housing TIF for an $88 million, 103-unit affordable housing building on Lakeside Avenue, projected to generate about $900,000 in city taxes over 20 years with roughly $3.85 million in developer savings.

Councilors Sartre Mitra, Kathleen Toomey and Berkman voted 3-0 on every item, including a rezoning on Charlton, Herman and Beacon streets sought by Centro Las Américas for about 60 affordable units, over objections from residents Louis Reyes and Helen Raptus of 42 Herman Street, who cited chronic traffic and parking problems. The panel paired that approval with a chairman's order for a city traffic study of Herman Street.

In the full story:

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Source: the Other Committee meeting of September 16, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.