Worcester Business Journal

10 Worcester Business Journal | March 20, 2017 | wbjournal.com P eer through openings cut in temporary construction walls, and there stand two escalators from the former Worcester Center Galleria and Worcester Common Outlets, looking like fossils from another age. As vestiges of a different retail era – and a much different time for down- town Worcester – they'll soon be removed. Taking their place just on the other side of the wall is a massive stair- case designed to evoke a strong sense of place and a place to gather – and to offer a symbol of the property shedding its past as part of a sprawling mall. "The whole idea is to get rid of that mall feel," said Chip Norton, the owner of Franklin Realty Advisors Inc., the owner and developer of Mercantile Center. "It's a statement for our project." The staircase is a small but illustrative piece of a much larger $36-million overhaul of Mercantile Center, includ- ing the first new retail spaces on the old mall site since its demolition. New spac- es along the edges of the center's towers are envisioned as restaurants and other retail uses that will enliven a develop- ment with 642,000 square feet of space – almost 30 percent of which is vacant. October 2015: The office towers at 100 and 120 Front St. are sold for $32.5 million to Franklin Realty Partners, with plans for $36 million in renovations. February 2016: The towers are rebranded as Mercantile Center. June: Nationwide Insurance moves into 30,000 square feet of office space. November: Kelleher & Sadowsky signs lease for 7,400 square feet of office space. December: UMass Memorial Health Care moves in the first of what will be around 500 information-technology workers on the site. "We want to get a user that's going to activate the plaza," Norton said. The retail plans It isn't just that there didn't used to be retail along Mercantile Street. Mercantile Street didn't exist at all. In the years since the mall was demolished and downtown's old street grid reconnected, the blocks just east of Worcester Common have taken on an entirely new look that comes with reborn retail space. Mercantile Street, which now runs where the central walkway of the mall once stood, has been lifeless for much of the time since the mall was taken down, with the edge of Mercantile Center covered by a blank wall. Norton envisions three retailers, such as restaurants, taking up 25,000 square feet along Mercantile Street, including what's envisioned as a landmark, two- story space near Foster Street. Norton said one restaurant is already under agreement – he wouldn't specify the name or type of the eatery – and two other spaces are in negotiation, with the first of those spaces slated to open in early 2018, Norton said. Niche Hospitality Group – which owns and operates Worcester restau- rants like The Fix Burger Bar and Mezcal Tequila Cantina – is in negotia- tions for those two remaining spaces, Niche President Mike Covino said. Retail activation BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal Digital Editor Mercantile Center developer replacing long-dead Worcester Galleria to drum up excitement for vacant office space Mercantile Center timeline All this retail is designed to not only bring visitors to the Mercantile Center but provide additional amenities for the 1,500 people who occupy the leased office spaces and the 2,000 or more people Norton hopes will fill the devel- opments once it is fully leased out. On the other side of the property, by Commercial Street, another 32,000 square feet of commercial space is planned. There isn't yet a timeline for those tenants, but the vision is for users that will drive foot traffic and make the property more attractive both to office tenants and anyone looking to visit for dining or entertainment. Worcester's new downtown Shops and restaurants at Mercantile Center will be joined by the 168-room AC Hotel by Marriott under construc- tion across Front Street and the first phase of 145 Front Street, which will eventually include retail spaces and 365 apartments. The first phase of the $90-million 145 Front Street project is expected to be completed this fall. City Councilor Tony Economou recalled hanging around the Galleria as a kid, and then the site's defunct days. "And then to see the resurrection, it's amazing," said Economou, who chairs the council's economic development committee. "What's happened in our Charles "Chip" Norton will have invested nearly $70 million to turn the 100 & 120 Front St. towers into the mixed-use Mercantile Center. P H O T O / E D D C O T E

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