WORCESTER, Mass. - The former site of the Worcester Boys and Girls Club is getting new life as a community arts center.

Creative Hub Worcester is a nonprofit focused on using arts for healing and social change.  They plan to have affordable artist studio space in the building where the public can make and sell art. 

Built in 1914, the building has been vacant for more than a decade and was once at risk of being torn down. 

Representatives Jim McGovern and Richard Neal toured the property on Tuesday. The two plan to work to secure federal funding and tax credits to make the project a reality

McGovern said, “This is a project that is going to help people who live in this area. Everything from daycare to creative art space, you name it. This is going to be, when it's completed, filled with a lot of local community activity."

Neal said, "They have a plan, I mean you can't go anywhere without a road map and right here they have a roadmap.”

“It is essential. They lay out what they need and it's not explained in terms of wishes. You need to make it economically viable and that means you have to glue together a lot of extra parts,” said Creative Hub Executive Director, Laura Marotta. 

The project is expected to cost $14 million. UMass Memorial Health announced last year they are providing a seven-year, $500,000 investment loan to Creative Hub.

The project is expected to be completed in 2022.