Worcester has landed a $3 million state grant to help tear down the long-vacant Denholm Building at 484 Main St., pushing the downtown landmark one step closer to becoming a mixed-use apartment complex. The money will fund part of the demolition of the building, which once housed a beloved department store and later a cluster of local nonprofits before falling into disrepair.
The grant comes from the MassWorks Infrastructure Program, funneled through the state's Community One Stop for Growth portal, according to MassLive. That program provides state funding to Massachusetts municipalities and public entities for public infrastructure improvements, and the One Stop portal combines multiple state financial-support programs into a single review process, per the same report. Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty said the initiative “has been a game changer for Worcester, delivering $24 million across 38 vital projects since 2022,” the outlet reported.
The $3 million award is part of a record $330 million statewide Community One Stop for Growth round announced in October 2026, according to Mass.gov, which supported local economic development and housing initiatives across the state. The timing lines up with an earlier, separate city proposal: in April 2026, Worcester floated a $7 million site demolition project for the Denholm Building alongside a $3 million agreement to sell the cleared property to developer Menkiti Group, as reported by the Worcester Business Journal.
From Department Store to Worcester Redevelopment Authority-Owned Eyesore
Denholm & McKay Co. first opened its doors at 484 Main St. in 1870, eventually growing into Massachusetts' largest department store outside of Boston during a 103-year run before closing in 1973, according to the City of Worcester. The building's exterior got a mid-century modern concrete facelift in the 1950s, a detail that still shapes preservation conversations around the site today.
Before the Worcester Redevelopment Authority stepped in, the building operated as an office condominium housing roughly 18 to 20 local entities, primarily nonprofits including the United Way of Central Massachusetts, African Community Education, and Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Worcester Business Journal reported. The building had deferred maintenance, and its owners approached the WRA. The WRA acquired the 200,000-square-foot property in August 2022 for $3 million, funded through a $6.8 million municipal loan authorized by the Worcester City Council that also covered demolition, tenant relocation assistance, and maintenance, per the same outlet.
Menkiti Group Scales Back Its Ambitions
The WRA picked Washington, D.C.-based Menkiti Group in August 2023 out of four competing proposals to redevelop the site, following a request for proposals the authority issued in November 2022, according to Patch. Menkiti's original winning pitch, dubbed “Denholm Court,” was a $113 million design calling for two towers of 10 and 11 stories with a combined 233 apartments, 10,000 square feet of retail, and a 20% affordable housing set-aside.
That plan has since shrunk. Mark Rengel presented updated development options to the Worcester Redevelopment Authority at its Aug. 20 meeting, with the team now exploring 175 or 187 apartment units across either two seven-story buildings or one seven-story and one eight-story building, MassLive reported. Any version of the project must offer at least 175 units. A definitive site plan is expected to go before the Worcester Planning Board this month, and the demolition of the existing structure is slated for 2027.
A Bigger Downtown Push
The Denholm project is one piece of a larger footprint Menkiti Group is building along Main Street. In August 2026, state officials awarded the developer $2.3 million in Commercial Conversion Tax Credits to turn the nearby historic Clark Block building at 401-405 Main St. into 48 apartments as part of a $27 million redevelopment, part of a statewide $15.3 million effort covered previously by Hoodline's report on the office-conversion awards. Menkiti Group says it has invested more than $50 million in Downtown Worcester over the past decade. Its local development pipeline exceeds $100 million, and its Worcester portfolio includes Chatham Lofts, Olympic Lofts, and commercial space at 526 and 554 Main St.
While the building has sat vacant, the city has tried to keep its storefront windows alive with public art. In November 2024, Worcester's Cultural Development Division and the WRA launched “The Heart of Fashion and Art,” commissioning nine local artists to transform the Denholm Building's street-level windows into contemporary displays honoring its history as a major fashion retail destination, according to the City of Worcester. With demolition now targeted for 2027 and a site plan headed to the Planning Board this month, that temporary art installation may be among the last public uses the historic facade sees before the wrecking crews arrive.
