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6 Worcester Business Journal | March 20, 2017 | wbjournal.com B R I E F S Antiquarian Society gets $18M for expansion The American Antiquarian Society, located just off Park Avenue in Worcester, has received a nearly $18-mil- lion tax-exempt bond from MassDevelopment to upgrade its current building and expand to new space. The Antiquarian Society will buy a building at 4 Regent St. for offices, meet- ing and storage space, and demolish the building now at 90 Park Ave. for parking. The society will move the main build- ing's laboratory and equipment, and cre- ate new meeting space. Nearly vacant Holliston facility sold for $1.2M A manufacturing building in Holliston has sold for $1.15 million to private buyer Peter Jin, according to Greater Boston Commercial Properties. The 38,161-square-foot building at 123 Washington St. is a former manufac- turing facility with three tenants occupy- ing approximately one-fifth of the build- ing and the balance available for lease. T H E T I C K E R 25 Acres in Westborough purchased by California electronics manufacturer NEO Tech, which includes a 198,000-square-foot production and warehouse space. Source: Cushman & Wakefield Increase in foreclosure starts in Worcester County in January in comparison to previous January 5% Source: The Warren Group Price paid for Fiske Hill Plaza, a Sturbridge commercial property at 71 Main St. with three vacancies. $750,000 Source: Kelleher & Sadowsky Associates, Inc. Jobs Massachusetts is estimated to have added in January. 13,000 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Continued from previous page Staples to close 70 stores Framingham office retailer Staples plans to close about 70 stores in North America this year after reporting a net loss of $615 mil- lion for 2016. The office supply chain has struggled in recent years, and last December sold its European division at a $117-million loss. That came about six months after the company's planned $6-billion merg- er with rival Office Depot fell apart. UMass Medical, WPI grad schools among U.S. best The graduate programs at UMass Medical School and Worcester Polytechnic Institute are among the best in the U.S., according to the latest U.S. News & World Report lists. UMass ranked 14th for primary care graduate programs, 50th for research and 79th for nursing. WPI ranked 94th for engineering. Staples CEO Shira Goodman