Town Officials, Nobscot Plaza Representatives Schedule Meeting

Any movement toward making the Nobscot Plaza more attractive would be welcome progress, said one shopkeeper standing inside one of the five remaining businesses at the half-filled shopping center on the northern reaches of Framingham.

When told that there will be a meeting next week among the Plaza’s rental agent, the dominant lease-holder and town officials, the shopkeeper said, “Anything would help. Somebody better do something soon.”

The meeting will take place Wednesday and is closed to the public.

“It’s an internal meeting among town officials,” said Community and Economic Development Director Alison Steinfeld. “It’s a fact-finding meeting.”

The gathering purposely won’t be an official meeting because the town does not want to run afoul of the Open Meeting Laws.

“I’m going in wanting to do nothing more than listen,” said Selectman Dennis Giombetti. “What are the plans they have in mind? What is the relationship with Shaw’s? I will suggest that the next step would be to reach out to the neighborhood.”

For years Nobscot residents have watched as the Plaza deteriorated and businesses moved out.

Once TD Bank moves to its new building at the corner of Edgell and Edmands roads on Nov. 1, there will be five retail spaces occupied in the Plaza and six empty storefronts.

Stores that remain in the plaza are CVS, Royal Pizza, Sabrina Wong, Trinity Optical and Village Cleaners.

“I hope something comes in here,” said a manager of one of the occupied stores in the Plaza. “Business dropped 50 percent when Star Market moved out.”

The largest empty space in the plaza was once occupied by a Star Market, one of the brands that Shaw’s controlled. A company from Minnesota, SuperValu, acquired Shaw’s in 2006 and with that acquisition came a long-term lease on the space in Nobscot.

A manager from SuperValu’s real estate team and a representative of the Plaza’s new leasing agent, Boylston Realty Advisors out of Wilmington, are slated to discuss the future of the plaza on Wednesday with representatives of the Board of Selectmen, planning department and Community and Economic Development.

“The fact that SuperValu is willing to sit down with the town and a new broker is promoting the site is encouraging,” said Steinfeld.

Jeff Bruk, of Boylston realty, indicated that his firm will be leasing all the vacant space in the Nobscot Plaza as individual or combined spaces. He will have a brochure available at www.boylstonrealty.com next week that will give further details about the property.

A deserted gas station on Edgell Road that sits alongside one of the entrances to the Plaza is included in the property.

Bruk reported at this time there are no specific plans for that area. “However, we are taking steps to clean up all areas surrounding this building.” Artist renderings on the Boylston Website indicate the gas station building would be removed and a stand-alone, 2,400 square foot building would be built on the spot.

Drawings and specs on the Boylston site show the former market space is close to 37,000 square feet, 13,500 square feet through the center of the plaza and 3,400 square feet of space with a drive-through window where TD Bank sits.