“New Vernon Hill town homes cause a stir” By Rod Lee, From Worcester Telegram October 11, 2006 WORCESTER, MA - Of those in attendance at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for The Residences at Vernon Hill on September 28th, no one was a more interested or appreciative observer than one local realtor. “I grew up at the bottom of Rice Lane; in the wintertime, we used to sled from the top of this hill all the way to Houghton Street,” the realtor said as she enjoyed lunch on the deck of The Residences at Vernon Hill’s model unit. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s (CBRB) New Homes Division is marketing The Residences at Vernon Hill, Worcester’s newest town-home community. Situated behind the former St. Vincent Hospital, The Residences at Vernon Hill features four different two-bedroom, two and a half-bath townhouse models to choose from. All include a living room, dining room, kitchen, one-car garage with insulated door and automatic opener and individually metered electric and gas. Living space ranges from 1,161 square feet to 1,260 square feet. Prices start in the $200,000’s. Unit selections include the Belmont I, the Belmont II, and the Salisbury I and II. The community is being developed by The Liberty Companies, a Boston-based firm with a stellar track record spanning more than a quarter of a century. The Liberty Companies reach has extended here to Worcester where the firm transformed Technology Square at the intersection of Plantation and Belmont streets from “a dreary manufacturing building” into “a Class A office building.” The Liberty Companies also developed the Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School fro grades one through twelve on Rt. 12 in Worcester, where classes are held in open and airy rooms in a former industrial setting. In her welcoming remarks prior to the ribbon cutting for The Resdences at Vernon Hill, CBRB New Homes Division’s Cindy Dube triggered a stream of enthusiastic comments about the city, the neighborhood and the town homes themselves. Dube referred to the town homes as “a quality product at a great price.” Mayor Tim Murray continued the drumbeat when he said, “we welcome private investment like this. Worcester is known as a city on the move and we don’t want that to be an empty phrase.” A growing, thriving city doesn’t happen by accident, Murray said. For such development ot occur, “we in the public sector have to do the blocking and tackling,” he said. Worcester City Manager Mike O’Brien used his own brief address to say that the sight of cranes, the smell of diesel fuel and the sound of construction that is typical of what’s taking place at projects like The Residences at Vernon Hill is sweet to experience. “Boston and Providence should take notice,” O’Brien said. “We are the second-largest city in New England and damn proud of it.” O’Brien told his audience that Worcester has become “a hotbed” for development. In the words of a poet, he said, other localities “can’t touch this.” Mohsin M. Amiji, CEO of The Liberty Companies, used the time he was apportioned to tout the firm’s “investment and commitment” to Worcester dating back to the mid-1980’s. “What you are about to see will amaze you and maybe even astound you,” he said. << BACK TO NEWS PAGE