Owner Of MA Apartment Building Where 4 Died Seeks Public Funds For Rebuild

WORCESTER, MA — The owner of a Worcester apartment building along Gage Street where four people died in a 2022 fire wants to rebuild on the site of the now-demolished structure — and is seeking money from the city to do it.

A Worcester woman has been charged with arson in connection to the deadly May 2022 fire. But the property owner, a Westford resident, also racked up dozens of complaints in the years he owned the building before the fire — including complaints from residents that smoke detectors were not working in the enclosed porch where the fire broke out. One resident referred to the Gage Street building as "rock bottom" due to its poor condition.

The owner of the 2 Gage St. property will appear before the Worcester Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) Wednesday to seek assistance for the construction project, according to a meeting agenda. The trust fund was seeded with $15 million in money sent to Worcester as part of a pandemic stimulus package. In general, developers who want to build new affordable housing or rehab existing stock can ask the trust fund board for financial help.

According to the application, the owner is seeking about $472,000 from the fund to build a seven-unit apartment building with 22 bedrooms. Three of the units would be set aside as affordable for people earning 30 percent or less of the area median income, the other units would also be affordable at some level, according to the application.

2 Gage St. caught fire early in the morning on May 14. Flames traveled up a back staircase of the building, trapping residents on the upper floors. Only one resident on the top floor was able to escape by jumping out a window and plunging three stories to the street below.

The four victims were Joseph Garchali, 47; Christopher Lozeau, 53; Vincent Page, 41; and Marcel Fontaine, 29. They died of smoke inhalation and thermal injuries, the Worcester County DA's office has said.

A grand jury indicted a 36-year-old former resident of the building last fall, recommending charges of second-degree murder, arson and assault and battery. She previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The building also had a history of health and safety violations, according to inspection records. Residents reported missing smoke detectors, and said the building was in poor shape overall. Two residents who spoke to Worcester Patch said they put up with the low-quality housing, including rampant mold and vermin infestations, because the rent was so cheap.

The owner's application was a topic for discussion at Tuesday's meeting. District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj asked the city manager's office to clarify how the Affordable Housing Trust Fund screens applicants to avoid bad actors getting money.

District 2 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson, whose district includes Gage Street, said she was outraged the city would entertain an application for funds from a property owner who doesn't appear to care whether his tenants live or die.

"Those folks should not be getting one cent from this city. Four individuals died — died — and we have violations all over this city from this individual," Carlson said.

The owner of the building at the time, Huanchen Li, of Westford, has previously declined to comment about the code violations at 2 Gage St. and several other buildings that he owns in Worcester. In June 2022, Li transferred the 2 Gage St. property to be controlled by a limited liability corporation called 2 Gage LLC, according to state records.

The application before the Worcester Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) is from an LLC called 2 Gage Worcester LLC. The two managers of that LLC are listed as Jaime Vargas, a Marlborough contractor, and 2 Gage LLC, state records show.

The AHTF application says the owner of the new building would use a property management company to maintain the building.

Li received a permit in February to build a new foundation at 2 Gage St., according to city records. Vargas is listed on the permit as the builder. A call to the phone number listed on the building permit went straight to a voicemail inbox.