Worcester Business Journal

8 Worcester Business Journal | June 12, 2017 | wbjournal.com NYC firm spends $20M to create modern Milford shopping plaza From nearly vacant to complete overhaul T he outlook was bleak for the shopping plaza off Route 109 in Milford, with Kmart, the steakhouse Bugaboo Creek and World Gym all vacating the property in less than a two- year span starting in 2014. All that remained was a Dollar Tree and Salon Centric. The crisis turned out to be an oppor- tunity for the longtime plaza owner. Now, New York City property manag- er RD Management is remaking the old Kmart as a Stop & Shop grocery store and has plans to expand a second build- ing and add a third, creating a total of 15 retail spaces in what is now called Milford Crossing. After an investment of more than $20 million, the plaza will grow to more than 180,000 square feet and look noth- What's out: Kmart, Bugaboo Creek, World Gym What's in: Stop & Shop, Starbucks What stayed: Dollar Tree, Salon Centric What's left: 10 or more spaces ranging from 1,090 to 24,628 square feet The new Milford Crossing Source: RD Managment ing like the 1970s-era center that it was. "This is going to be a different cen- ter," said Al Rossi, senior vice president for RD Management, as he gave a tour of the space that will become Stop & Shop this fall. "This is all the stuff you do behind the scenes. People will come in here and shop, and they'll never know what it took to get there." Overhauling the retail experience With the Medway Road plaza almost entirely vacant, RD found it the right time to start over. The parking lot was dug up, and a new drainage system is being installed. Asbestos was removed, and the building was stripped down to only the concrete floor and steel shell. Kmart's old garage doors were covered up, and a bigger loading dock was installed for those who will bring deliv- eries to Stop & Shop. "Everything is affected," Rossi said of overhauling the space from a retailer to a grocer. "Architecturally, mechanically." Stop & Shop, which is moving from the Quarry Square Shopping Center about a mile away, is expected to open in November. A second large retailer, yet to be announced, will open in the former gym space right next to Stop & Shop. Dollar Tree and Salon Centric will remain, even as the building is renovated and expanded around them. By July, work will start on a new 20,000-square-foot building that will feature a restaurant and a drive- through Starbucks, each with outdoor seating, and other shops. RD Management - which also oper- ates centers in Billerica and Lowell, and 82 others nationally - is in talks with several national retailers. "We have a lot of work to do between now and the end of the year," Rossi said. Creating a new Milford destination In recent years, new development in BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal Digital Editor This rendering shows a new look for the former Kmart plaza after a $20-million-plus renovation and expansion. Construction crews creating a new loading dock for Stop & Shop, which is expected to open in Milford Crossing by November. P H O T O S / G R A N T W E L K E R R E N D E R I N G C O U R T E S Y

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