Honestly? There don’t seem to be many places that aren’t welcoming of trans people in Worcester. What are your specific interests? I would state your interests and maybe people can guide you more clearly.

I think you're on to something. Why not use a building to solve some of the downtown community's problems. If the Denholm building cannot be converted somehow maybe it should be demolished but I fear it would end up as an undeveloped eyesore.

Rose Wine Photography in Worcester!

Why settle for a small grocery? People still use physical grocery stores, and that building is one of the few downtown that can support a full size one. Penalizing people who live downtown by forcing them to either endure the inevitable higher prices and limited selection of small groceries or cling to their personal vehicles as they fight over insufficient downtown parking so they can get to a "real" grocery isn't right. Whether the original building is kept or a new one built, this should be heavily considered.

If it's feasible to convert the upper levels to residences, sure, but as you point out the building has layout issues for that. If movie theaters weren't so dead (especially in pandemic world), I'd say a small theater with a few screens could go there since the city doesn't have one at all anymore, but unless they see some sort of post-pandemic recovery I don't see that being successful either. So I'm not really sure what the best idea would be for the upper levels. Maybe a new building is needed after all.

Are you sorely unaware of the amount of folks that are currently in worcester desperate for affordable housing?

It really isn’t a great structure for a retrofit. Too many issues to bring it up to modern code.

Yup. The Denholm building primarily houses non-profit organizations, so the fact they are closing it down for what will probably be low income housing goes to show you where Worcester's priorities are. All the talk about how glorious that area "was" and what the plan going forward? High density low income housing? LOL!

Firehouse is still open? Wow...Been years

My mother and aunts and uncles spoke about how almost glamorous Denholm's was. Like: how lucky are we that this beautiful creation sits about 10 blocks south from where we live? Also everyone worked at Peggy's Hat Shop. Lol.

Bridget is a true artist. Her photographs will make you feel. And there was never a nicer person: http://www.charlielittlephotography.com

I realize there's a storied history and it's sad that that part of Worcester's past is gone. But the building itself is fairly ugly.

RussRo

Jess Hughes

Agreed, between the internet and the pandemic, the way people shop has changed forever. Nation wide, thousands of malls have closed and the big department stores that have survived are more curiosities than prosperous retailers. Among them the most famous are more tourist attractions now. The internet does lack the hands on aspects of shopping and there are still products people prefer to in person shop for. I don't know if this change is good or bad there's a lot of vacant real estate that is mostly rotting. I wonder how many on Reddit would rent housing in a defunct mall that offered amenities like security staff, parking, a gym, some sort of storage, a convenience store or small grocery, indoor and outdoor common spaces, a dog park and maybe even a bar.

Seconding this, Joe and his wife are wonderful

Worcester's downtown was once as bustling as Boston's and Denholms was the flag ship the city's department stores. Denholm's was in a class with Macy's in New York and Field's in Chicago. It was a store where the wealthy shopped and the rest of us window shopped. Fewer people remember those days and it's relevance has faded but it's still a sturdy structure and should be repurposed, it would make a great apartment building or student housing,

He does excellent work he did work on two of my cars in the past.His prices are decent too.

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Anything run by loveyourlabels is super trans affirming!

Kan Photography is wonderful!

5-0-8 is where I’m fruh-uh-uhmm.

Tony toes and little bows is amazing!

Le petite studio out of Bolton, MA is the best! Cannot recommend enough

Check out events at the Firehouse, many of the members are queer / trans.

I would recommend joining the go list, lower traffic these days but still a great way to find out about friendly events in town: https://groups.google.com/g/go-list

I love living on campus, I got lucky and got placed with someone I get along with very well. I’ve heard good things about Foster, its similar to classic college dorm style except you will have your own bedroom. I live in the apartment style dorms which I have heard is a different experience.