WORCESTER, Mass. – District 5 Worcester City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj and District 5 city council candidate Jose Rivera are pushing for the redevelopment of the blighted property at 195 Mill Street.

The former supermarket location has been boarded up and out of use for 20 years. Both Haxhiaj and Rivera see it as an opportunity to bring new life to the neighborhood.

“It’s been holding this neighborhood hostage,” Haxhiaj said. “I’ve proposed several things. The planning board just approved the re-zoning so we can have higher density. I also suggested back in December of last year that we into what’s called a ‘UCH diff zone,’ meaning that you provide incentives to any developers that want to come in and do a mixed [zoning] kind of project.”

“I’m hearing that there’s possibilities of demolishing the building, which is great,” Rivera said. “Because now it wouldn’t be a blight in the community, and it gives them all the time in the world to decide when they want to sell the property.”

The more than 10-acre property is currently owned by Worcester Mill LLC.