Almost six years after the Menkiti family bought its first downtown Worcester property, residents will soon be moving into a new housing site in an old YWCA the family s development firm has renovated.
The new development, called Chatham Lofts, brings 24 apartments to a six-story building off Main Street a short walk from the Hanover Theatre, a part of downtown just south of City Hall city officials have prioritized for new development and investment.
Chatham Lofts is roughly two-third complete, with plans for an opening to residents around April. Pre-leasing marketing has begun in the past few weeks.
The Menkiti Group, a Washington, D.C., property developer, bought the Chatham Street site in April 2015, spending $800,000 on a deal that didn t make big news at the time. Four years ago, Ifeanyi Menkiti, a Wellesley College professor, bought the former Shack s men s clothing store building at Main and Mechanic streets. The idea then was for a cultural center to complement his art e
If it s Wednesday or Saturday, he s singing at Matteo s of Boca Raton. If it s Friday or Sunday, he s singing at Matteo s of Hallandale (Beach). Tuesdays you can catch him at the Seagate Hotel in Delray Beach. Thursdays, the Seagate Beach Club, Delray Beach. My quote in life is When I’m singing, I’m happy, said Worcester native Marco Turo, who grew up in the Shrewsbury Street area, worked for many years as a restauranteur, and then packed that in while in his 50s to try for a career as a singer.
He mostly sings as Marco Turo and has his own distinct pleasing voice while sounding quite at home doing Frank Sinatra covers, Tony Bennett, Tom Jones, and more. Besides his voice, Turo has been praised for his charm in concert.
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“The way we really look at it is that UMass Memorial is really part of the fabric of the community, and we rely on the community as much as the community relies on us,” said Catheryn McEvoy, vice president of communications at UMMHC Health Care, and a prior co-chair of the event.
A black-tie event, the fundraiser is at once an opportunity to support the hospital network financially as it is a chance for the region s movers and shakers to gather in one space.
In 2020, of course, normal plans for a 450-person gala event were upended, and the event planners switched to a 90-minute virtual program. With donations still trickling in, McEvoy said the event is close to raising $1 million, about half of what it raised in each of the past two years.
Every winter, a who’s who of the Central Mass. business community puts on their finest and gathers – typically, at Mechanics Hall in Worcester – to celebrate and support UMass Memorial Health Care.