**Worcester Polytechnic Institute Moves Forward with Hotel Purchases for Student Housing Amid Local Concerns**
WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is advancing its plans to acquire two local hotels to address a projected shortage in student housing, despite facing criticism from some local leaders.
In a recent letter to the campus community, WPI confirmed its intentions to purchase the Hampton Inn on Prescott Street and the Courtyard Marriott on Grove Street. The university aims to alleviate the housing crunch affecting both its students and the broader Worcester community.
“Many of you live in the city and therefore know that the Worcester housing market is extremely tight, with ever-increasing apartment rents and a vacancy rate of 1.7%, one of the lowest in the country,” the letter states. “This situation puts considerable strain on our students’ ability to find affordable housing and adds pressure to the city’s housing crunch. Our plans to increase our on-campus housing will not only help our students, it will also create space in the market for families and other renters impacted by the housing shortage.”
The letter, signed by Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Michael Horan and Senior Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Philip Clay, also provided new details about the university’s plans, which had previously been kept confidential due to ongoing discussions.
Initially, both hotels will continue to operate at their current capacity. WPI does not anticipate any job losses for hotel employees, and after the purchase, both properties will remain on the city’s property tax rolls and continue to generate hotel tax revenues while operating as hotels.
The Hampton Inn is slated to be converted into student housing by 2026, while the Courtyard Marriott will remain a hotel until at least 2030.
However, Worcester City Councilor George Russell has expressed concerns about the impact of WPI’s plans on the local tourism industry.
“WPI should be looking at what they’re doing by taking away these units and making a major negative impact on our tourism,” Russell said. “In fact, the chairman of the Civic Center Commission sent a letter out the other day saying that they’re basically in noncompliance now because they don’t have enough hotel rooms to go by the contracts for the conventions they have.”
Earlier this month, in a letter to WPI’s president, the city manager, mayor, Worcester Chamber of Commerce, and other organizations voiced their surprise at the university’s plans to purchase both hotels. The group claimed that these plans were never discussed during several meetings with WPI about its future developments.
The group opposes the proposal, arguing that it would remove nearly $760,000 from the city’s property tax roll and eliminate a quarter of Worcester’s hotel rooms.
Source: spectrumnews1.com