Worcester Business Journal

44 Worcester Business Journal | December 23, 2024 | wbjournal.com ECONOMIC FORECAST 2023 Year in Review: Retail TJ Maxx plaza in Acton sold for $38M to NY firm Acton Plaza, a shopping center anchored by tenants including Roche Bros. and TJ Maxx & HomeGoods, has been sold to New York real estate firm Brixmor for $38 million. e plaza was sold in a deal finalized on Aug. 22 by E&A Northeast LP, according to Middlesex South Reg- istry of Deeds records. E&A is an entity managed by EDENS, a real estate and property management firm based in Washington D.C. e plaza is made up of four main parcels, with six storefronts located at 371-395 Massachusetts Ave. and eight retail spaces located at 291-307 Main St. Both buildings were constructed in 1972, with the entire plaza given a combined tax assessment value of $19.68 million in 2024, according to Town of Acton property records. Other retailers at the plaza include e Paper Store, Acton Wine & Spirit Co., and a Not Your Average Joe's restaurant, according to a marketing brochure for the property produced by EDENS. e brochure notes the plaza sees 674,620 annual visits and was redeveloped in 2014. A building containing a Chase Bank branch at 291 Main St. and another building containing a Dunkin' location at 315 Main St. were included in the deal, as were some smaller parcels between the buildings containing roads, emergency access routes, and other easements, according to registry documents. Brixmor owns and operates approximately 360 retail centers across the country, according to its website. e Brookside Shops, another large plaza in Acton, was sold to Newton-based Crosspoint Associates for $21 million in February. Connor Scott and Nathaniel Heald of CBRE in Bos- ton served as the listing brokers for this transaction. Former Christmas Tree Shops plaza in Shrewsbury sold for $13.6M A Shrewsbury shopping plaza, which is the former site of a Christmas Tree Shops store, has been sold for $13.6 million. e 9.1-acre Olde Shrewsbury Village plaza, located at 1000 Boston Turnpike, was sold in a deal finalized on March 25, according to Worcester District Registry of Deeds records. e entity purchasing the property, 1000 Boston Turnpike LLC, is managed by Zi Qian Zhang, according to Secretary of the Commonwealth records. Zhang is the owner of JZ Real Estate in Fall River. He has opened a number of restaurants and owns 20 trampoline parks across the East Coast, according to his website. e plaza was sold by Shrewsbury Village Limited Partnership, a Yarmouth-based entity operated by the family of Charles Bilezikian, the late co-founder of the Christmas Tree Shops retail chain. e Christmas Tree Shops located in the plaza closed in August, following the company's bankruptcy. A number of stores continue to operate in the plaza, including Uptowne Mediterranean Restaurant, JOANN Fabric and Cras, and American Freight, a discount re- tailer of furniture and appliances, according to Google listings. e plaza was constructed in 1986 and contains 11 separate retail spaces totaling 162,015 square feet, ac- cording to Town of Shrewsbury property records. e Town gave the property a tax assessment value of $15.9 million in 2024. Whitney Gallivan, Joe Wagner, Kevin Benzinger, and Nick Herz of Boston Realty Advisors represented the seller in this transaction, according to Traded Boston, a website tracking real estate transactions. Trader Joe's plaza in Acton bought for $21M by owner of Framingham Whole Foods center A shopping plaza in Acton featuring national brands including Trader Joe's and Staples has been sold for $21 million. e Brookside Shops, located at 145 Great Road in Acton, was sold in a deal finalized on Feb. 9, according to Middlesex South Registry of Deeds records. e property was sold to Brookside Owner LLC. Brookside shares managers and an address with Crosspoint Associates, a real estate firm based in Newton, according to Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth records. Crosspoint owns properties throughout New England, including the Whole Foods Marketplace in Framingham and the Golden Triangle Shopping Center in Natick. e property was sold by 145 Great Road LLC, a corporation managed by Clarion Partners, a global real estate asset management company based in New York City. Great Road purchased the property for $33.5 million in 2016, according to Town of Acton property records. e property was given a tax assessment value of $12.2 million in fiscal 2024. e 13-store plaza features 120 parking spots and was built in 2002, according to LoopNet, an online real estate listing service. In addition to Trader Joe's and Staples, Brookside Shops is also home to XGolf, a business featuring indoor golf simulators, and Chico's, LOFT, and Talbots, three separate retail stores dealing in women's apparel. Historic Natick building, once host to U.S. VP's wake, sold for $6M Clark's Block Building, a 43,000-square-foot mixed use building in downtown Natick, has been sold for $6 million to a Cambridge-based firm. e property, located at 2 Summer St., was sold to e Clark Block LLC in a deal finalized on June 20, according to Middlesex South Registry of Deeds records. e Clark Block is an entity managed by First Cambridge Realty Corp., a firm with more than 500 apartment units and 60,000-square feet of commercial and office space in the Cambridge area. e building was sold by Kensington Investment Co., a firm co-headquartered in Boston and Utah. Clark's Block Building is located less than a block away from the Natick Center train station. Built in 1872, the three-story building contains retail tenants on the first floor and office space above, according to Kensington's website. e historic building in the heart of the town's downtown area has held many events over its 152-year history, including the wake of Natick resident and former U.S. vice president Henry Wilson, according to a posting for the property on LoopNet, a real estate listing website. Wilson served as vice president of the United States under the administration of Ulysses Grant from 1873 until Wilson's death in 1875. e building is named for Nathaniel Clark, a 19th century businessman who was involved in the con- struction of the building. e third floor contains a disused concert hall. Kensington had intended to demolish the hall to make way for more office space, but backed away from those plans following the COVID-19 pandemic and an on- line petition campaign to save the space, according to a January 2021 article from the MetroWest Daily News. Brookline firm purchases Leominster plaza with Outback Steakhouse for $5.46M A strip mall in Leominster has been sold for $5.46 million to a Brookline real estate firm. e strip mall, located at 865 Merriam Ave., was sold in a transaction finalized on July 1, according to Worcester Northern Registry of Deeds records. e 2.21-acre parcel was purchased by 865 Merriam Leominster LLC, an entity managed by Fairway Prop- erty Group, a firm based in the Chestnut Hill area of Brookline. e property was purchased from 23 Realty DE LLC, an entity managed by Geronimo Commercial Properties in Leominster. Geronimo had purchased the property for $4 million in 2014, according to Town of Brookline property records. e plaza, constructed in 1975, was given a tax assessment value of $2.48 million in 2024. It is directly across the road from Twin City Shopping Center, a large retail plaza which sold for $24 million in May 2023 to Boston-based Long Wharf Capital. Acton plaza with Trader Joe's W

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