Worcester council delays vote on tax break for developer that violated ordinance
The Worcester City Council on Tuesday night held off on voting on a tax break proposal for an office-to-apartment conversion project.
The Washington D.C.-based Menkiti Group is looking to convert offices at 401-409 Main St. into 48 market-rate apartments.
Prior to the Tuesday night council meeting, City Manager Eric D. Batista asked the council to approve a 10-year real estate tax exemption on the property’s new value.
He also asked the council to designate the project as eligible for tax credits under the state’s Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP).
Council Vice Chair and Councilor-at-Large Khrystian King held the item under privilege, meaning a vote on the matter won’t take place until the next council meeting scheduled for Jan. 20.
King concerns about the tax exemption were related to Menkiti previously violating breaching the city’s responsible development ordinance.
The Menkiti Group’s 20-unit apartment project on 204 Main St . was found in non-compliance of the ordinance due to past violations by one of the project’s subcontractors, Barber Drywall.
Between 2024 and 2025, Barber Drywall received five violations from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office. These violations were related to Barber Drywall’s work at the Concord Middle School, according to Jay Barber, the owner of the company.
Under Worcester’s responsible development ordinance, developers who receive tax exemptions from the city for projects are not allowed to have contractors or subcontractors who have violations within the past three years.
Menkiti, which was given a tax increment exemption for the project, paid $5,000 as part of the non-compliance order.
King also asked Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn if there were any reports of wage theft from Menkiti or the subcontractor.
Dunn told King he had not heard any reports of such activity happening.
Both Dunn and Batista expressed confidence in recommending the tax exemption for the Main St. project, touting the city’s negotiations with Menkiti.
Menkiti previously told MassLive they were not aware of the violations from Barber Drywall prior to their hiring for the 204 Main St. project.
Nevertheless, King held the item until the next meeting, saying he had unanswered questions.
“I stand in opposition to this on its face. I have some questions for clarification that might move me,” he said.
Five of the 48 proposed apartments on Main Street would be restricted to tenants earning up to 60% of the area median income. The five units include two studios at $1,400 a month, two one-bedrooms at $1,600 a month and one two-bedroom at $1,800 a month, Dunn told the council.
Worcester is currently facing a shortage of market-rate and affordable housing and needs to add more than 12,000 units by 2033.
The average market-rate rent in Worcester is $2,100, according to Zillow.com.
More Worcester Stories
Read the original article on MassLive . Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
