A notorious address in Worcester has a new owner. City officials remain cautious

WORCESTER — Two years after a fire killed four people inside a building on Gage Street , and the ensuing criticism the property owners faced from city officials, the property has been sold to a new owner.

However, the city's Department of Inspectional Services still has some concerns about the redevelopment of the property at 2 Gage St., which they previously found had stalled.

According to records with the Worcester Registry of Deeds, the entity that owned the property sold it to Nicholas Granata-Cappabianca for $170,000. The deed was recorded June 28.

Four people died in the May 2022 fire: Marcel Fontaine, 29; Joseph Garchali, 47; Christopher Lozeau, 53; and Vincent Page, 41. The building was razed in June 2022.

On Sept. 29, 2022, a Worcester County grand jury indicted a former resident, Yvonne Ngoiri, on four counts of second-degree murder and two counts of arson of a dwelling.

Granata-Cappabianca acquired the property individually, not through a limited liability company. He purchased it from 2 Gage Worcester LLC, a corporate entity with prior property owner Huanchen Li listed as the resident agent.

Li and his wife, Wendy Wang, have come under heavy criticism from former tenants and city officials for their management of the building and their response to the fire, including allegations that neglect was a factor in the tragic outcome.

Violations had racked up for years prior to the fire.

In June 2023, representatives from a different limited liability company applied to receive funding from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to redevelop the property; former residents spoke out against the application.

The trust fund's board of trustees voted to end consideration of the application because they were unconvinced by claims that Li, Wang and their family had disinvested from the property.

Meanwhile the property has remained a headache for the city, with only a bare foundation present on the property.

An April communication from Inspectional Services stated that there have been multiple site violations, with the department spending "an inordinate amount of time and staff resources."

On March 25, the department issued three orders to the property: to repair a public sidewalk to a safe walkway, to replace the damaged construction fence and to maintain erosion controls throughout the duration of construction.

During a meeting of the City Council's Standing Committee on Public Safety, Interim Commissioner David Horne said the department has no reason to believe that the new owner will not move forward with the property, but will be seeking a reissued court order to the new owner so they can monitor its redevelopment.

"We've called ahead to (Granata-Cappabianca), told him we're going to be reissuing the same order we had to the owner so we can continue to monitor that construction site," Horne said. "Going forward with this, we're going to give a little time to settle here."

When asked by Public Safety Committee Chair Kathleen Toomey about how much time the new owner would get, Horne said a few weeks.

Horne said the foundation at the site has been backfilled, new fences have been installed and the sidewalks have been repaired.

During an initial conversation with Granata-Cappabianca, Horne said the new owner was unsure about the next steps for the property. The interim commissioner said he remains "a little wary" about the situation with the property, but understands the new owner has to go through the process of seeking relief from zoning requirements and figuring out whether he intends to sell it.

"The problem with the property now is that (Granata-Cappabianca) has to go back to all the boards to get relief," Horne said.

If the new owner does not move on the project, Horne said, he will discuss the city's options with the law department. If it sits for more than a month or two, the department may ask Granata-Cappabianca to cap off the open foundation and stabilize soil conditions. The city could also put it on the vacant building list if it remains inactive.

Toomey said she felt expediency was important and requested a follow-up report in about a month.

"We need to be aggressive on this because of the impact on the community," Toomey said.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: A notorious address in Worcester has a new owner. City officials remain cautious