EBC Nicholas Humber Award for Outstanding Collaboration

Award Project: Polar Park

Award Recipients:

  • City of Worcester
  • Worcester Redevelopment Authority
  • Worcester Red Sox
  • Gilbane | AECOM Hunt, A Joint Venture
  • W. L. French Excavating Corporation
  • D’Agostino Izzo Quirk Architects
  • Sanborn, Head & Associates, Inc.
  • Skanska USA, Inc.
  • Madison Properties
  • Foley Hoag LLP
  • Epsilon Associates, Inc.
  • Wilcox & Barton
  • Bohler
  • Haley & Aldrich, Inc.
  • Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection – Central Regional Office
  • MassDevelopment
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Polar Beverages

The EBC Nicholas Humber Award for Outstanding Collaboration is awarded to the Polar Park project, a challenging urban renewal project that has revitalized over 18 acres of brownfields that sat vacant for decades in the heart of Worcester, Massachusetts. As an urban renewal project, Polar Park was led by the Worcester Redevelopment Authority (WRA) in partnership with the City of Worcester and the Worcester Red Sox, Triple-A Affiliate to the Boston Red Sox, who have relocated from Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The brownfields redevelopment effort involved coordination and compliance among seven Release Tracking Numbers (RTN) on record with MassDEP. Over 150,000 tons of soil had to be excavated, managed, and transported. The WRA hired Skanska USA as owner’s project manager; Gilbane-Hunt, a joint venture, as construction manager; D’Agostino Izzo Quirk as project architect; and Sanborn, Head & Associates, Inc. served as the lead Licensed Site Professional handling all soil characterization and Release Abatement Measure (RAM) / soil management plans. The cost of the brownfields assessment and remediation was supported in part by an Assessment Grant from the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, and Cleanup Grant from MassDevelopment’s Brownfields Redevelopment Fund. The Ballpark will serve as a hub for community activity in the City, hosting 70 Minor League Baseball games per year in addition to numerous other activities such as concerts, high school and college sporting events, fundraisers for local community organizations and non-profits (including the WooSox Foundation), fireworks shows, and high school graduations. Numerous businesses already elected to move or expand to Worcester because of the presence of the Ballpark and the Worcester Red Sox, and more development in the Canal District specifically is expected to follow.