Union Station/Washington Square Project

Union Station at night

The development of Union Station and the Washington Square area is a major initiative of the City Administration. The $32 million dollar renovation of the building has created arguably the City's most beautiful building, with efforts ongoing to secure additional tenants. Contact Glickman Kovago at 508 753-9100 for information about available commercial space.

A bit of history

Initially constructed in 1911, Union Station enjoyed decades of activity until the railroad industry began its decline. In 1975, Union Station's owner abandoned the building and for the subsequent twenty years the building deteriorated. Acquired by the Worcester Redevelopment Authority in 1995, the station underwent a complete renovation - restoring the building to its former majestic splendor and grand reopening in July 2000. Complete with the Grand Hall's original elliptical stained-glass ceilings, interior marble columns and mahogany wood trim, today Union Station is often called the City's most beautiful building.

A transportation center

A fully functioning transportation center, Union Station features train, taxi as well as intra and inter-City bus service. A grand opening for the bus terminal was held on August 8, 2006, celebrating the completion of the $5.2 million project which includes five bus ports as well as service, ticketing, baggage drop-off and pick-up areas for customers utilizing intercity motorcoach service provided by Greyhound Bus Lines and Peter Pan bus lines. More than 200,000 passengers annually are expected to utilize such service from Union Station replacing the previous terminal located at 75 Madison Street.

The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority or MBTA commuter rail currently operates ten round-trip trains per day between Union Station and Boston. The City administration continues to work closely with the MBTA to secure additional train service to accommodate the more than 1,000 daily passengers the trains presently attract.

In addition to commuter rail, Amtrak, the national passenger railroad, operates a ticket office in Union Station, with daily service available to Albany, Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Washington Square reconfiguration

Sketch of Washington Square

The project involves the reconstruction of the Washington Square rotary and replacing it with a smaller rotary also commonly referred to as a "roundabout." The new circle is designed to improve pedestrian activity, enhance traffic flow through the intersection, and provide optimum accessibility to Union Station. This project will also provide additional land area for potential retail, office, hotel and residential uses. Construction is ongoing.