Former owner re-acquires Blackstone Tap building

WORCESTER – A Canal District building seized by federal authorities over a money laundering case has been re-acquired by a businessman who once owned it.

Jefferson S. Mararian took ownership last week of the building at 81 Water St., which once housed a bar called the Blackstone Tap, according to filings in U.S. District Court and the Worcester County Registry of Deeds. Mr. Mararian agreed to assume a mortgage owed to Bay State Savings Bank and pay $9,000 to the government.

Mr. Mararian said he plans some renovations for the building and is still considering uses.

“If I had a specific answer, I’d happily give you one,” Mr. Mararian said.

Mr. Mararian founded the Blackstone Tap and owned the building from 2004 to 2016, when he sold the business and property to Kevin A. Perry Jr.

Mr. Perry, of Millbury, was sentenced in May to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to money laundering, distribution of the drug fentanyl, unlawful cash structuring and making a false statement on a loan application.

Federal prosecutors alleged Mr. Perry had financed restaurants and multiple properties, including 81 Water St., with money from the sale of drugs. After Mr. Perry’s arrest, his wife and two others were also charged with concealing drug proceeds.

A federal judge ordered the building forfeited on Aug. 31.

The two-story building contains 4,144 square feet of space and is valued at $313,300 by the Worcester assessor’s office, according to online records. It sits in a neighborhood near downtown that has slowly become a home to trendy eateries, salons and boutiques.

Most recently, the Pawtucket Red Sox minor league baseball team announced plans to relocate to a new ballpark that the city of Worcester will build in the Canal District alongside parcels that developer Madison Properties will turn into hotels, apartments and retail space. The total development is valued at more than $200 million and will include state-funded improvements to the Kelley Square intersection.

Mr. Mararian said he is considering different “concepts” for the building and wants to do something that would fit with the neighborhood, which has changed since he ran the Blackstone Tap.