Vacant Property Ordinance and ICC Building

At a glance

• What: Council response to the vacant property registration ordinance (fines for downtown vacancies over 90 days) and the vacant Inn and Conference Center-area building owned by the UMass Building Authority.
• Where it stands: Response accepted and placed on file October 13, 2026; solicitor to research stronger or more frequent penalties.

Based on auto-generated captions of the video; names and numbers may be misheard.

Sources

• 2026-10-27 - City Council Meeting
• 2026-10-13 - City Council

Log

2026-10-13 - City Council

Councilors asked about fining monthly rather than annually and the solicitor said state statute may allow other options. The assistant city manager described a carrot-and-stick approach with incentives and registration mandates, citing a Market Street site. The UMass Building Authority has not listed its building; the city manager met the chancellor, the community college president and the congressional delegation, and the chancellor may brief the economic development subcommittee. Land-sale proceeds could be directed to an economic development account.

• 2026-10-27 - City Council Meeting - Councilor motion on an opposition letter to using the ICC building as a shelter listed on the agenda.