Shrewsbury projects keep officials, contractors busy

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By Bonnie Adams, Managing Editor

 Olde Shrewsbury Village (Christmas Tree Shop Plaza
Olde Shrewsbury Village (Christmas Tree Shop Plaza

Shrewsbury – If you have traveled on Route 9 through Shrewsbury recently, no doubt you have seen the initial work being done at Lakeway Commons, the new mixed-use development being built at the site of the former Spag’s building on Boston Turnpike (Route 9). And while that is certainly a major project, there is a lot of other activity keeping builders, contractors and town officials busy, as well.

In a recent conversation, Kristin Las, the town’s assistant town manager and economic development coordinator, provided an update on major projects.

    Lakeway Commons – Grossman Development Group, LLC, plans to build a 375,000-square-foot mixed-use development, comprised of 100,000 square feet of retail, including a 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods store as the anchor, 250 apartments, and 14 for-sale townhomes on the property.

Steel is now being erected for the commercial buildings and foundations are being poured for the apartments buildings.

Thus far, a number of restaurants and businesses have been confirmed for the development including Whole Foods, Qdoba, Sweet Pizza, Tavern on the Square, Unibank, Jenny Boston, Orangetheory Fitness, Burtons Grill, and Starbucks.

The development is due to be complete by late summer 2017.

    Olde Shrewsbury Village (Christmas Tree Shop Plaza) – This development has undergone a great deal of renovation beginning with the relocation of a brook in the back parking lot which borders Route 20. Little Bummet Brook, which previously ran underneath a small bridge that connected the parking lot to the main plaza, has been reconfigured to another part of the parking lot. The bridge has been taken down and work is ongoing to create one large parking lot that will have approximately 865 spaces.

In addition, the building that was home to stores and businesses in front of the development and was closest to Route 9, has been torn down to make way for additional parking spaces as well.

 The Residences at Orchard Grove – This new assisted living facility will be a 75,000 square foot 80-apartment community located at 258 Walnut St. The community, according to developer LCB Senior Living’s website, will feature a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. The development is due to open in the fall of 2017.

    White City Shopping Center – A new restaurant, Chinese Merch, is now open at the location of the former Applespice Junction, next to Planet Fitness.

    Trader Joe’s Plaza – A new business, Total Wines & More, is building a new store, nearly 25,000 square feet, on the site of the former Petco. Gerardo’s Bakery will also be opening a new store in the plaza, next to Chipotle’s.

    Fairlawn Shopping Plaza – Although a Halloween business is now there on a temporary basis, there are no other plans for development at this site at this time.

    Wagner Kia of Shrewsbury – The current Kia building will be replaced by a new one on the same property. In addition, a new dealership and a maintenance facility will be built on the Wagner property.

    CVS Pharmacy – The company will build a new store on the corner of Route 9 and South Street, with an anticipated opening in late 2017 or early 2018. The current CVS, located at 197 Boston Turnpike, will continue to stay open.

    Charles River Laboratories Inc. – The facility off South Street, which opened in October 2015,  currently employs approximately 130 people and has plans to add another 170 positions over the coming year.

    The Shrewsbury Public Library – After two years of renovations, the library officially opened for business in September.

“It’s very exciting to see the library back open – it has definitely added a vibrancy to that part of town,” Las said. “We hope that it will help to attract more businesses there as well.”

Shrewsbury Public Library
Shrewsbury Public Library
Lakeway Commons
Lakeway Commons

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