Becker College, which announced its closure in March, has sold the majority of its Worcester campus to local developer Russ Haims, returning more than $15 million in assessed property value to Worcester's tax rolls.
Becker College’s Worcester campus so blends into its neighborhood west of downtown someone could pass through and, if it weren’t for the blue Becker banners on a few dozen buildings, barely notice it’s a campus at all.
But how seamlessly Becker’s roster of late 19th-century and early 20th-century buildings fit amid the blocks of shaded streets just off Elm Park puts pressure on Worcester and Becker to ensure the buildings find new useful life after the school closes after the spring semester.
“They are extremely important properties in the city,” said Deborah Packard, the executive director of Preservation Worcester, an advocacy group for historic preservation.
With 36 Becker College buildings, Worcester neighborhood faces uncertain future
WORCESTER As Becker College s impending closure looms over the Elm Park neighborhood and Worcester, nearby property owners and city officials hope that the college s property is taken over by responsible owners. Each campus is an economic engine in and of itself, Timothy P. Murray, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, said, The loss of Becker both in the Highland Street, Elm Park neighborhood and Leicester is a blow to both the neighborhood and regional economy. The disposition of assets is going to be important to try to make sure we are collectively trying to infill the neighborhood in a way that supports the neighborhood businesses.
Telegram & Gazette
WORCESTER Becker College, whose origins date to the late 1700s, will close at the end of the academic year.
The school last month made it clear that its future was in doubt, owing to financial struggles caused in large part by the pandemic.
On Monday, Christine Cassidy, chairwoman of the Board of Trustees, confirmed what students and neighbors of its campuses in Worcester and Leicester had hoped to avoid.
In a post on the Becker College website, she wrote: It is with deep regret that I share the news that on March 28, the Board of Trustees voted to permanently close Becker College at the end of the current academic year. The College will provide academic, support and transitional services to students through August 31, 2021. Following an orderly transition, classes will not resume in the Fall.