Westborough’s Regal Cinemas property generates development interest

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Westborough’s Regal Cinemas property generates development interest
Westborough’s Regal Cinemas property sits boarded up off Route 9. (Photo/Stuart Foster)

WESTBOROUGH – Thirty-seven entities had requested copies of a request for proposal (RFP) for Westborough’s former Regal Cinemas property as of June 28. Now, the clock is winding down on proposals as the town moves forward in its efforts to offload the troubled building.

“We know we won’t get all of those back in terms of actual submissions,” said Assistant Town Manager Kim Foster during a Select Board meeting. “But as we approach the deadline in July, we’re hopeful that we’ll have a good response.”

The Regal site was built in 1997. It is an approximately 49,000-square-foot building that sits on a 29.34-acre site off Route 9 at 231 Turnpike Road.

The theater abruptly closed over four years ago, prompting a search for the property’s owner.

The town ultimately acquired the site by foreclosure in January before Town Meeting voters in March approved an article to transfer the property to the Select Board to handle its disposal.

The Select Board approved the RFP for the sale of the property in May.

The town noted in the RFP that proposers should be aware that they may not be able to use the building without “extensive renovations.”

Town staff have noted damage and vandalism at the property in both the RFP and in public meetings. The RFP categorized this damage as the destruction of bathroom fixtures, walls, drop ceilings and glass along with water damage due to burst pipes.

In the RFP, the town wrote that the property will be conveyed in its as-is condition.

“The town shall have no obligation to make any repairs or improvements to the property or to deliver it in broom-clean condition,” the RFP said.

In mid-June, the town held a walkthrough of the theater.

Proposals for the property must be received on or before July 25 at 11 a.m.

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