Worcester City Square

The Worcester City Square project was a $565 million dollar redevelopment project that was born from Dan Benoit’s vision to reconnect Front Street to Washington Square by tearing down part of the Worcester Common Outlets mall.

“As Dan suggested, we were dealing with a failure of architecture and planning, and the only solution was to demolish and start anew,” Lieutenant Governor Murray said at the groundbreaking ceremony in 2010. “We got some pretty stunned looks from several folks in leadership back then. But we stayed focused on the goal.”

Dan believed strongly that the reconstruction would enhance future development opportunities, especially in the Washington Square area, by removing the huge concrete barrier between the downtown and Union Station that was created by the construction of the mall.

Since the City Square redevelopment project began, roughly $90 million in public investment has generated $298 million in private development. The area has become a thriving economic, biotech, residential, and commercial hub for Worcester, and serves as a local success story in urban design and master planning.