40 Worcester Business Journal | October 28, 2024 | wbjournal.com
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ond-floor retail space, which I thought was
going to be a non-starter," Norton said.
"Second-floor retail is tough anywhere – es-
pecially in Worcester – so I kind of backed
away from it."
e turning point came aer a discussion
with UMass Memorial Health Care, Norton
said. e healthcare network already occu-
pied space in the Norton-owned Worces-
ter Business Center on Millbrook Street.
UMass Memorial officials expressed interest
in having a downtown presence, and that,
Norton said, is what made him take a sec-
ond look at the Front Street properties. He
eventually purchased them for $33 million
in 2015.
"I did a deep dive on the property, got to
know it, and put an offer in on it contin-
gent on UMass committing to 90,000-plus
square feet. ey signed a lease, I bought
the property, and they took a big chunk of
second-floor space in the old mall," he said.
"With them as the mainstay, so to speak,
I moved the project forward, and it's been
very successful on the office side."
Retail, however, is taking a bit longer
than Norton said he expected. About
Continued from previous page
CitySquare saw the rise of the Unum
Building (left), which has since been
rebranded as One Mercantile (right),
which is now adorned with the Fallon
Health logo.
WBJ FILE PHOTO
