Phase 1 of Curtis Apartments demolition reached as new construction begins

WORCESTER — On the plot of land where a row of buildings once stretched from 30 to 58 Great Brook Valley Ave., the end of an era has been giving way to a new one.

Excavators toppled on Tuesday the last of the buildings in Phase 1 of the revitalization project by the Worcester Housing Authority that aims to replace the dated Curtis Apartments with fresh units that will carry the same name.

Heaps of red-brown mounds to the right — the bricked exterior of buildings — rose near where 28 Great Brook Valley Ave. begins, contrasting the orderly construction of new foundations on the leftmost block, the location of 52 to 58 Great Brook Valley Ave.

The fluid cycle of demolition on one end and construction on the other are all part of progress made since June 7, when demolition first began to start off the first of a four-step redevelopment of the Curtis Apartments.

“This is a significant moment in the redevelopment of Curtis Apartments,” said Alex Corrales, CEO of the Worcester Housing Authority in a statement. “We are excited to wrap up demolition in Phase 1 of the project. Construction has already begun with work on the basement at 52-58 Curtis, which was the first building to come down.”

Set to cost $98 million , Phase 1 of the redevelopment of Curtis Apartments includes the building of a 129-unit apartment complex that will be offered to residents who once lived along that portion of Great Brook Valley Avenue.

This phase of the project is expected to finish within two years.

Three other phases are expected to reach completion within the next eight years; the goal will be to overhaul multiple Great Brook Valley blocks, which total to 372 units including the ones torn down during Phase 1.

Trinity Financial, the developer on the project, also renovated the old Worcester courthouse in early 2021 , turning the historic apartments into mixed-income housing.

Dating to 1951, the Curtis Apartments were designed as low-cost homes for returning war veterans and their families. They were eventually used for public housing.

The Worcester tornado didn’t spare the complex when it swept through in 1953, killing 15 people, including two passengers on a 12-ton bus that was picked up, rolled over several times and thrown against the newly constructed Curtis Apartments.

In 2010, the apartments underwent a $20 million makeover that was aimed at making the block safer after many years of being haunted by violent crime.

Corrales maintains that investment has since brought crime down 98% in the area.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Phase 1 of Curtis Apartments demolition reached as new construction begins