Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal | March 9, 2026 | wbjournal.com REAL ESTATE INSIDER AUBURN e Auburn Select Board approved a class II motor vehicle license to EZ Cars Motors to operate a used car dealership at 85 South St. e business is owned by Gabriel Claudino of Revere. BOXBOROUGH Boston-based investment firm Tritower Financial Group has pur- chased the 97,210-square-foot re- search-and-development building used by Ireland-based medical device firm Medtronic for $17.8 million. e 8.28-acre site is at 200 Beaver Brook Road in Boxborough. e site was sold by Campanelli of Braintree, which had partnered with Dallas-based TriGate Capital to purchase the site for $10.5 million in 2021. FITCHBURG Fitchburg resident William Bourque is attempting to appeal the Building Commissioner's October determina- tion that the proposal to convert the former high school at 151 and 177 South St. into a healthcare and rehabili- tation center qualifies as an educational use, which would exempt the project from local zoning regulations. Bourque and his supporters question the classi- fication and express safety and traffic concerns if the facility were to be built. HUDSON e Hudson Select Board approved the issuance of a common victualler license to Brooke Leone to open the restaurant Julienne's Aernoon Tea Experience at 131 Coolidge St. e restaurant planned its grand opening for March 7 and will have regular hours of 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. ursday to Monday. Viking Real Estate Enterprises, a Hudson-based entity managed by Lars Nielsen, purchased a property featur- ing a 7,221-square-foot warehouse for $955,000 from the estate of Wayne Cavanagh. S. Elaine McDonald of REMAX Executive Realty in Marl- borough represented the buyer, while Bret O'Brien and Nishan Papazian of Greater Boston Commercial Proper- ties in Northborough represented the seller. LEOMINSTER e Leominster Planning Board approved a special permit for Este- fano and Pedro Nario to turn the 4,830-square-foot building located at 127 Mechanic St. into an automotive spray booth and body shop. Maynard-based real estate investment firm e LexVest Group has purchased the site of a 62,259-square-foot industri- al building at 44 Mead St. in Leominster for $4 million. e industrial building on the 4.1-acre site contains 49,807 square feet of industrial space and 12,452 square feet of office space. e building dates back to 1920, containing eight docks and two drive-in bays. MILLBURY PrimeLink Healthcare Staffing LLC of Millbury has signed a new two-year lease for 850 square feet of office space at 352 Boston Turnpike. e site was leased from Masiello Family Irrevo- cable Trust of Shrewsbury. omas Bodden of Kelleher & Sadowsky Asso- ciates in Worcester served as the leasing representative for this transaction. NATICK e Natick Planning Board is holding public hearings regarding Newton-based developer National Development's application for a special permit for a 40,182-square-foot assisted living residence facility on North Main Street. National Development's project would demolish some of the existing office and retail buildings along North Main Street and Lakeshore Road to create a three-story, 116-unit facility for individuals 55 and older. NORTHBOROUGH Forza LLC, a Westborough-based entity managed by Michael Donfran- cesco, purchased 4.2 acres of develop- able land for $1.35 million from One REAL ESTATE INSIDER | B R I E F S BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Managing Editor F itchburg State University is pivoting away from efforts to bring a Downtown Fitchburg theater back to life, switching to new plans to build a mixed-use building at the site. FSU is now planning to construct market-rate apartments, along with retail and restaurant spaces, to replace the theater block at 707-717 Main St. e university had purchased the site in 2016 under then-president Richard Lapidus, with the intent of bringing the space as a performance venue. "Between soaring cost estimates, changing theatergoing habits since the pandemic, the evolving needs of the university and competing demands on its resources, the vision from 2016 is simply no longer viable," FSU President Donna Hodge, who became Fitchburg State's 12th president in July 2024, said in a Feb. 20 press release. "e new plan represents a significant private investment that will inject new vitality into this city. We are honored to be part of moving Fitchburg forward." e university will be working with Boston-based GFI Partners to complete the project. GFI Partners' portfolio contains more than 20 million square feet of commercial properties, according to its website, with the firm working to develop a six-story apartment building near Worcester's Polar Park baseball stadium. e Fitchburg theater project had received public funding, including $2 million from the federal government in 2022. ose funds will be applied to the new project, according to FSU's press release. e university's press release included words of support toward the new plan from federal and state officials, including Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-Fitchburg), Gov. Maura Healey, and Edward Augustus, the outgoing Secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. "is initiative revitalizing Fitchburg's downtown is going to be a huge win for the local economy and for Fitchburg State University's ability to recruit and retain the best talent," Gov. Maura Healey said in the press release. "Downtowns are essential for promoting small businesses growth, providing spaces for community to gather, and giving residents a lively and central place to live. We're grateful to Fitchburg State University for using this available space to build more housing, which will help us lower costs for people across the region." FSU relocated its game design studio from the building last fall, and the building's two other retail tenants, Pauper's Pantry restaurant and the Gallery Marquee artist exhibition space, have exited the building. Pauper's Pantry moved to a space at nearby 533 Main St., according to a Feb. 15 Facebook post from the business, while Gallery Marquee has yet to announce its new location. FSU intends to break ground on the development this spring. e project will still require local approvals. Full plans and the amount of apartment units at the site have not yet been made available. Fitchburg has been working to revitalize the Downtown area for decades, with FSU playing a role. First opened in 1929, the theater space at 707-717 Main St. has sat dormant since 1987. Other Central Massachusetts entertainment venues, including the Worcester Memorial Auditorium, the Olympia eatre in Worcester, and the former Foothills eatre in Worcester, have been le in a similar situation, facing increasing costs of renovation and shis in consumer trends as roadblocks to revitalization. Fitchburg State ends attempt to revitalize Downtown theater Fitchburg State University has brought on Boston-based developer GFI Partners to replace the Downtown theater with a mixed-used development. PHOTO | MATT WRIGHT W

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