Springtime for Gateway Park in the Woo

Spring has arrived in Worcester! Flowers are indeed blooming, like this one in Institute Park, a short walk from my Gateway Park office. Buildings are blooming, too! On the way to the park, there's a new WPI dormitory being constructed - I have no current pictures of the nearly-completed dorm, but some under-construction photos are below. Soon to come will be pics of the current state of the new dorm. It's looking pretty good!

Gateway Park is still overall a heavily industrial area, but it's starting to take shape as something more. One of the city's two hotels, the Courtyard Marriott, is over here. Worcester is in desperate need of more hotels - this city ain't going anywhere until it can attract more groups to have their conventions and events at the DCU Center. Recently, there was a proposal before the City Council to build another hotel in the vicinity of the Marriott, and what happened? The proposal was DENIED by the Council. Who knows why (details of that were not given in the article I read), but one thing is for certain - if these City Councillors want this city to improve, they've got to start understanding the need for more hotel rooms. Perhaps once these dorms are completed, and there's more foot traffic in these underdeveloped parts, there will be more of a push for not only hotels, but also for retail and restaurants on this side of Highland.