University Park, also called Crystal Park, is a public park in the

Main South Main South (or South Main) is a neighborhood in southern Worcester, Massachusetts. The area's eponymous feature is Main Street, the central roadway of the city. Main South experienced rapid economic development from the 1890s until the 1950s. H ...

neighborhood of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. The park was acquired by the city from 1887 to 1889, costing nearly 62,000 dollars. It is located across Main Street from

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...

, thus the name.

University Park Campus School The University Park Campus School is a public school in the Main South neighborhood of Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It educates 239 students in grades 712 as of 201718. Opened in 1997, the school is operated by a partnership between ne ...

, a local nearby public high school founded with help from Clark, is named after the park. On September 20, 2010, Clark University announced a "20-year voluntary

Payment in Lieu of Taxes A payment in lieu of taxes (usually abbreviated as PILOT, or sometimes as PILT) is a payment made to compensate a government for some or all of the property tax revenue lost due to tax exempt ownership or use of real property. Canada The federal g ...

agreement" with the City of Worcester, with some of the funds going directly to improvements in University Park. On March 24, 2011, the $1.5 million park redevelopment project was formally announced, and residents were informed that there would be a several-month-long community engagement and participatory planning process.

References

Parks in Worcester, Massachusetts Clark University 1887 establishments in Massachusetts {{WorcesterCountyMA-geo-stub