Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | September 3, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 5 B R I E FS Riverdale Mills founder dies at 88 James Knott, Sr., the founder of Northbridge wire mesh manufacturer Riverdale Mills, has died at the age of 88. Knott founded the company in 1980 and transformed it into a globally known company with more than 3,500 wire mesh product configurations for cus- tomers primarily in lobster fishing. Athol mill sold for $1.2M to marijuana grower e former Union Twist Drill building in Athol has been sold for $1.15 million to a marijuana firm to be used as a cul- tivation facility. MassGrow, LLC, based in Natick, will begin construction at the 360,000-square-foot mill in September. Bravehearts hit attendance record e Worcester Bravehearts collegiate summer baseball for the 2018 season drew a record average of 2,502 fans per game, good for sixth highest among col- legiate leagues across the country. at attendance figure puts the Bravehearts among the best of any collegiate league team in the Northeast. Cornerstone, U.S. settle Shrewsbury St. drug deal e federal government will pay Worcester's Cornerstone Bank $415,000 aer it sells the former Usual and Cha- meleon restaurant building on Shrews- bury Street in Worcester, which was closed aer law enforcement uncovered a drug money laundering operation. Cornerstone had given former restau- rateur and convicted felon Kevin Perry a $375,000 loan for the building on which he defaulted. Last month, the bank said it was owed more than $444,000 in principal, interest and other fees due on 166 Shrewsbury St. DPH refutes UMass Leominster closing plans e Massachusetts Department of Public Health has decided the inpatient pediatric unit at Leominster's UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hos- pital is an essential service, calling on the hospital to submit a detailed plan on how it plans to provide the service aer the planned closure of the unit. In an Aug. 16 letter, DPH said the services are necessary for preserving health access. DPH ordered the hospital to submit a detailed plan to assuring access to inpatient pediatric services aer its closure. W Kelley Square needs overhauled As part of the City of Worcester's plan to build a $90-million minor league baseball stadium, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation plans to completely overhaul Kelley Square, where six streets come together in the Canal District without a traffic light. MassDOT rates the intersection as one of the most dangerous in the state, and it had 294 crashes from 2013-2015, including 62 with injuries. F L AS H P O L L Does Kelley Square in Worcester need to be overhauled? Yes. All necessary action must be taken to fix an intersection with that many accidents. 72% "That intersection needed a redesign 60 years ago." COMMENTS: "If you can't drive through Kelley Square without an accident or causing a major backup, you can't drive. Maybe they can just pull the licenses from drivers that cause backups and accidents." "Can't believe this is a serious question. Anyone gets nostalgic and senti- mental about Kelley Square, give them a dope smack for me." Yes. But the redesign should not impact any adjacent private property. 13% No. It is a work of art and uniquely Worcester. 8% 7% No. The traffic flow ultimately works and the money should be spent elsewhere. Flying Dreams opening Marlborough brewery Worcester's Flying Dreams Brew- ing Co. will open a second location in Marlborough in a space where Walden Woods Brewing nixed its plans to open. Meredith Harris, executive director of the Marlborough Economic Develop- ment Corp., said 10 other microbrew- eries were asking about that space, and Flying Dreams emerged as the frontrun- ner for the space almost immediately. Boston hockey team relocates to Worcester e Canadian Women's Hockey League announced in August the Bos- ton Blades hockey team is moving to Worcester. e team will begin play at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center for the upcoming season aer previously playing in Winthrop. e team first came to Boston in 2010 and were the first professional women's team to play in the state. James Knott Sr. UMass Memorial - Health Alliance Hospital

• Cover