Worcester, MA Lieutenant governor Karyn Polito and a host of city and state officials joined Trinity Financial at a ribbon cutting event to mark the completion of the Courthouse Lofts mixed-income housing development. The event also celebrated the public opening of the Marshall “Major” Taylor Museum, which honors the life of the first Black cycling world champion, who was a resident of the city for 35 years.

Courthouse Lofts is the certified historic rehabilitation and adaptive re-use of the 214,000 s/f Old Worcester County Courthouse, originally built in 1845, into a new multifamily mixed income residential community. Located at 2 Main St., the redevelopment of the courthouse is part of a larger revitalization of the city’s historic Lincoln Sq. district. The 1,700 s/f museum dedicated to Major Taylor highlights vintage photographs, memorabilia and an active cycling experience portraying the life of the “Worcester Whirlwind.”

“Congratulations to everyone for helping to make this happen,” said lt. governor Polito, who spoke at the ribbon cutting event. “It took an incredible amount of collaboration, hard work, being dedicated and focused on it with a great amount of intention every day.” Lt. governor Polito also reminisced about her experience starting her career in the building’s courtrooms, including the development’s community room, which was formerly the Superior Court.

Courthouse Lofts includes 118 new units of housing in studio, one, two, and three-bedroom configurations. Community and resident amenities at Courthouse Lofts include on-site maintenance and management, a media and game room, club room ideal for remote work and study, fitness center, beautifully landscaped courtyard, a pet spa, children’s playroom and outdoor playground and on-site makerspace.

“This is a special moment for the City of Worcester. This project is a huge part of the revitalization of the Lincoln Square area of Worcester,” said city manager Edward Augustus, Jr. “It accomplishes so much in one fell swoop by providing a wide variety of housing options for people from all different city sectors while also affording the general public the chance to learn about one of Worcester’s most influential residents. The Courthouse Lofts and ‘Major’ Taylor Museum are a testament to the power of partnerships, and I thank and congratulate all those involved.”

Mayor Joseph Petty said, “The Courthouse Lofts has been a project that has been in the works for over a decade now and it has it all: historic preservation, affordable housing, and the adaptive reuse of a truly beautiful building. To get to this day has required the coordination of so many parties pulling in the same direction and towards the same goal. Thank you to Trinity Financial for committing to the future of the city of Worcester and to everyone who made this project come to fruition.”

Other state, city, and community leaders who participated in the ribbon cutting included state sen. Harriette Chandler; district councilor Candy Mero-Carlson; Timothy Murray, president and CEO of Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce; Christine Vincenti, senior investment officer at Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp.; Chrystal Kornegay, executive director of MassHousing; and Helen Oliver, vice president at State Street Corp.

“I am absolutely delighted to share today in the dedication ceremony of the Major Taylor Museum,” said Karen Brown Donovan, the great-granddaughter of Major Taylor, at the dedication. “This museum is so important because it represents the cornerstones of everything that was important to [Major Taylor and his daughter Sydney Taylor Brown] – excellence, education, accomplishment, and history. I believe Major would have been especially honored today if he could have been here, to know that Worcester continues to honor his legacy with a museum that is so close to the Major Taylor statue and the library.”

The dynamic lifestyle experience of Courthouse Lofts, the project’s unique approach to historic preservation, and the excitement and interest around a revitalized Downtown Worcester have combined to produce great success for Trinity Financial and Trinity Management in leasing. As of October 1, the community’s 118 apartment homes, including 31 workforce housing units, were fully occupied.

“Courthouse Lofts is a truly one-of-a-kind place to live,” said Michael Lozano, vice president of development for Trinity Financial. “We have an incredible community within the building and our apartments and amenities are perfect for today’s lifestyle and working needs.”

Apartment units feature dishwasher and washer/dryer, electric ranges with range hoods and microwave, quartz countertops, tile baths, custom light fixtures and generous natural light from oversized windows, stainless steel appliances and high-efficiency HVAC. Each unit is unique with incredible historic details and features. The project’s architects and interior designers from The Architectural Team Inc. (TAT) created comfortable, character-rich apartments at Courthouse Lofts while preserving the building’s most impressive public spaces.

“Courthouse Lofts is one of the most extraordinary adaptive reuse projects our firm has taken on, and we’re thrilled to see this project open,” said TAT senior project manager Phil Renzi. “Our design team faced the challenge of restoring and combining multiple historic structures from different centuries into a single community, and the result is truly exceptional. This community combines the best of modern living with monumental and exquisitely detailed historic architecture in a one-of-a-kind property.”

Courthouse Lofts was financed by the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation, MassHousing, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, and State Street Corp, among others.

“MHIC would like to congratulate Trinity Financial for implementing their bold vision to transform the vast and vacant historic Courthouse into a contemporary residential community serving households at all income levels,” said Christine Vincenti of the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp. “We were delighted to provide a comprehensive financing package that included low-income and historic tax credit equity as well as acquisition and construction financing.”

“State Street is proud to have partnered with Trinity Financial, the City of Worcester, MHIC, MassHousing, DHCD, and the Massachusetts Historical Commission to preserve this historic courthouse and create 118 new housing units in the heart of Worcester,” said Helen Oliver of State Street Corporation at today’s event. “The redevelopment of the Worcester courthouse achieves several public priorities that State Street has long supported, including historic preservation, responsible environmental stewardship, construction and management employment, and mixed-income housing.”

“On behalf of MassHousing, I want to congratulate and thank everyone at Trinity Financial for your vision, hard work, and most importantly, your persistence is creating this amazing development for 118 families and the community of Worcester,” said Cynthia Lacasse of MassHousing at the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Together with its property management division, Trinity Management, Trinity has a total of 300 employees with decades of experience in the development and management of transformative real estate projects. Commitment to diversity is also a core value for Trinity. In October 2020, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce honored Trinity Financial as a “Game Changer” for contributing to a more diverse workforce and creating opportunity for people of color through the Courthouse Lofts project.