20 Washington Square Demolition Delay
At a glance
- What: Building Demolition Delay Waiver BDDW-26-13, sought by Stephen Madaus for Washington Square Exchange LLC, to demolish 20A Washington Square, the three-story building attached to No. 20.
- Where it stands: ongoing. The Commission voted 0-5 on 2026-07-23 that demolition would not be detrimental, so the waiver was denied and the 12-month delay applies.
- Next: discussion continued to the 2026-10-29 meeting.
Background
- Purpose: bring light into renovations at No. 20; the owners have no finalized use.
- The building is not on a national or state register or in a local historic district, but was in the 1977 citywide survey.
- Madaus noted the delay is 12 months.
Preservation concerns
- Patrick Maloney of Preservation Worcester called it the Cooney block (built 1883 for saloon keeper James Cooney) and one of the few remaining buildings in the neighborhood alongside Mission Chapel.
- Architectural historian Susan Ceccacci and Jonathan Ostrow also urged preservation; Ostrow questioned the strength of the demolition delay ordinance.
- Erika Helnarski and others said the neighborhood lost most of its historic buildings to urban renewal.
Status and next steps
- Waiver denied 0-5 on 2026-07-23; the 12-month delay applies.
- Helnarski asked whether a local historic district study for the block was possible.
- On 2026-08-20 Michelle H. Johnstone said the owner's counsel and Maloney had met the day before, were keeping options open and had no plans, and about nine months of the delay remained; the discussion was continued to the 2026-10-29 meeting.
- The minutes' motion text says '20 Washington Square' but the discussion concerns 20A.
Discussion time
About 33 minutes across 2 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-08-20 - Historical Commission | 1 |
| 2026-07-23 - Historical Commission | 32 |
Log
- 2026-08-20 - Historical Commission - Status item: owner's counsel and Maloney met the day before, no current plans, talks continue; about nine months of delay left; continued to Oct 29 by staff, no vote.
- 2026-07-23 - Historical Commission - Waiver denied 0-5 after Stephen Madaus said the owner expected denial and had no plan; public comment from Maloney, Ceccacci, Randy Feldman and Ostrow; chair floated a local historic district study (staff cited the 36 Butler Street precedent) but no vote was taken; status update set for Aug 20.