Canal District Development

W.L. French Joins the Team Building Worcester’s Polar Park

W. L. French Excavating Corporation has been awarded a major contract at the site of the future home of the Worcester Red Sox by construction project manager Gilbane-AECOM Hunt, a Joint Venture.  Located in Worcester’s Canal District, Polar Park will be home to the Worcester Red Sox starting in the 2021 season. The Triple-A ballpark will seat 10,000 fans and is viewed by city leaders as the centerpiece of a major redevelopment project.

Established in 1972 and headquartered in North Billerica, W. L. French is one of Greater Boston’s leading site excavation, environmental remediation and soil management firms, having worked on some of the region’s most complex and high-profile projects.

For Polar Park, W. L. French will be performing site demolition of the 22-acre site, mass excavating over 150,000 cubic yards of soil and disposing of nearly 118,000 tons of excess soil.

W. L. French will also provide installation of temporary shoring to support the existing CSX railroad as well as other existing site features needed to advance the ballpark and new building foundations. Approximately 95,000 cubic yards of the soil excavated from the site will be used as part of a concurrent project being developed by Madison Properties called South of Madison (SOMA). To meet the critical project milestones, W. L. French will be removing upwards of 5,000 cubic yards from the ballpark site per day.

“W. L. French is proud and honored to be working with this exceptional team and city in the development of the Polar Park Stadium,” said President and CEO of W. L. French, Bill French Jr., “This park is going to be an integral part of the revitalization of Downtown Worcester and will be enjoyed by families, including our own, for decades to come.”

Worcester Red Sox and City to Break Ground on Polar Park Stadium July 11

The city and future Worcester Red Sox team brass will break ground on the Canal District stadium on July 11, officials announced at the city’s Independence Day celebration.

A 10,000-seat ballpark, slated to cost upwards of $86 million, will house the Triple-A team, which will play its first game at the beginning of the 2021 season.

Construction of the stadium will spark a massive transformation of the city’s Canal District.

And, the team and city have just fewer than two years to complete the project before the team starts playing.

Along with the ballpark will be a surrounding development, including at least 225 residences, hotels, restaurants, retail and an office building overlooking the field. Denis Dowdle of Madison Downtown Holdings is spearheading much of that development, and previously told MassLive his work, which is on the opposite side of Madison Street from the ballpark, will begin sometime after the ballpark groundbreaking.

Renderings for the stadium have not been released, however, designers Janet Marie Smith and Pawtucket Red Sox Chairman Larry Lucchino have said the ballpark will have lots of open space for fans to gather.

While the stadium is planned to hold 10,000 fans, not all will sit in traditional seats. Roughly 7,000 seats will be traditional, with other areas open for fans to mingle during the game.

via MassLive.com

New Renderings of Polar Park in Worcester

via Masslive

Fans will have to wait three years to step foot inside Polar Park, the 10,000-seat stadium that will house the Worcester Red Sox.

But for now, new renderings released by the city give a glimpse into what the stadium and its surrounding development will look like.

The renderings, available online in a master plan packet, imagine a park with brick detailing, surrounded by public space for guests to mingle.

Adjacent to the park is room for a diner.

Polar Park, estimated to cost between $86 and $90 million, is part of the overall $240 million development plan that will transform Worcester's Canal District.

Along with the stadium will be a 150-room hotel; a 100-room boutique hotel overlooking the ballpark; 250 market rate apartments; and 65,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

Additionally, MassDOT will oversee a complete reconstruction of the notorious Kelley Square intersection.

Construction is set to begin in 2019, renderings below:

Pawtucket Red Sox Move Sparks $240 Million Development

With the Triple-A affiliate baseball team, Pawtucket Red Sox planning a move to Worcester, the brand new stadium (Polar Park) is igniting a $240 million development. The team plans to be renamed the Worcester Red Sox.

In an announcement on Friday (8/17), officials from the city of Worcester, the state of Massachusetts and the Pawtucket Red Sox unveiled plans for a $240 million project to construct a ballpark, two hotels, shops and restaurant space on a vacant lot in the city's Canal District. At the press conference Friday, Larry Lucchino, chairman of the board of the Pawtucket Red Sox announced the new stadium would be called Polar Park, after the city's iconic Polar Beverages.