A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on June 30 to celebrate the completion of the new Voke Lofts mixed income housing project. The redevelopment of this historic vocational school building created 84-units of mixed-income housing for families. Originally founded by Milton Higgins in 1909 to house the Worcester Boy's Trade School, the Voke Lofts project was created to reuse and preserve the existing building, formerly known as Worcester Vocational Technical High School. The ribbon cutting was attended by Dellbrook Construction, WinnDevelopment and state and local officials. The project is part of the city's Gateway Park Master Plan.
Dellbrook Const. completed the $21million project in 14 months. The Voke lofts consists of 84 apartments, including 39 one-bedroom units, 11 one-bedroom with den units, 25 two-bedroom units, six two-bedroom with den units and three three-bedroom units. Interior features of the units include stainless steel appliances in kitchens, expansive windows, with features that preserved the character of the original building. Community areas such as a fitness center, art gallery, computer learning center and a playground are also featured.
Currently, 85% of the units are leased out, which was described at the ribbon cutting as very unusual by Gilbert Winn. He said it "speaks to the prominence of the building" and expects to be completely leased up within a month.
The Architectural Team designed the project to transform a brownfield site and rundown school facility into a mixed-use, LEED Certified, historic adaptive reuse project.Voke Lofts - Worcester, MA