Development began in Main South in the mid 19th century and came to its full development in the late 1880s with the founding of Clark University in 1887 by industrialist Jonas Gilman Clark. The neighborhood was stable until the post War era with the collapse of manufacturing in New England. By the 70s Main South became an area with a reputation for prostitution and hard drugs. This impression has stuck with the area, despite the reduction in crime & drug activity in the neighborhood. There have also been several fairly successful urban renewal projects, largely lead by Clark University through their University Park Partnership Collaboration focused on Housing & Physical Revitalization, Education, Economic Development, and Social & recreational activities for residents. Clark University has largely helped the neighborhood stay afloat even as the neighborhood continues to struggle with low level drug activity and homelessness issues.
From an urban perspective South Main is a solid urban district with convenient access to Dwtn and decent walkability thanks to its density, good public transit access, and Main Street running through the heart of the community. But Main South seems to be stuck in a place of low public perception thanks to its persistent drug and homelessness issues concentrated along Main St. This has made it hard for Main street to attract quality businesses and the neighborhood as a whole to attract higher income residents. The neighborhood also lacks bike infrastructure and could use a lot more retail and cultural amenities. Not sure if Worcester’s economy is strong enough to see major revitalization efforts in the community but my hope is that Main South can slowly revitalize from largely grass roots initiatives and support from Clark University.
Click here to view my Main South Album on Flickr
URBAN STRENGTHS:
* Outstanding density esp. for a mid sized city urban district.
* Very convenient access to Dwtn as the neighborhood is located just south of Dwtn.
* Solid public transit access and overall a pretty walkable neighborhood with Main St running through the heart of the community.
* Excellent racial diversity with a large Hispanic populating (around 40%) but good Black, White, and Asian household representation.
* Decent park amenities including the medium sized University Park complete with a pond, a couple smaller parks with playgrounds, the Clark University Campus, and a couple medium sized parks just on the edge of the neighborhood including a public pool.
* Clark is an excellent Historic Arts College with great architecture. Good amount of impressive historic homes and interesting commercial bldgs mixing in with the more working class housing.
* Solid urban form along Main Street. Better closer to Dwtn. Not so much along Park Street a 4 lane through street with a good amount of crummy modern in-fill.
* Decent # of walkable schools but of mixed ratings.
* Good # of rentals but pricey. 1-beds lease btwn 1.5K-2K, 2-bed btwn 1.5K-2.3K. Plenty of 3 & 4 bed options in the 2Ks generally.
* Decent for sale options and relatively affordable for the East coast. 1-bed condo options selling btwn 100K-225, 2-beds sell btwn 150K-300K, 3 & 4 beds btwn 250K-400K but not a ton of options.
* Decent retail amenities including plenty of small & medium sized grocerias, a CVS, a hardware store, a couple banks., tons of salons & barber shops, a couple furniture stores, several dollar stores, several dessert joints & bakeries, a YMCA and the Clark University Recreation Center, a small hospital, several churches, and a local post office & public library.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Good sidewalks infrastructure but ADA standard curb cuts are mostly concentrated along Main Street.
* Bike infrastructure is basically non-existent.
* A good amount of drugs and homeless concentrated along Main Street. Violence crime seems to be limited and blight isn’t too bad but many are willing to put up with “the scene” on Main Street.
* Nothing particularly inspiring about the streetscaping. Its functional but dated and warn.
* Cultural amenities are so so. Some restaurants, bars, & cafes and a brewery especially along Park Ave. a performing arts Theater at Clark University, a couple night clubs, and convenient access to all the cultural amenities dwtn.
Evaluating our Urban Communities [with a focus on America] 