Former Westborough cinema to become Hindu worship site, following $5.1M sale

After years in limbo, a former Regal Cinemas site in Westborough will be turned into a Hindu house of worship.

The 29.3-acre site containing a 47,872-square-foot cinema was sold for $5.1 million on Jan. 30, according to Worcester District Registry of Deeds records, an apparent end to legal disputes and debate over the future of the site stretching back almost a decade. 

The site was purchased by Bochasanwasi Shree Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanshtha, a Hindu denomination headquartered in Ahmedabad, India, which has more than 5,000 centers of worship across the globe, according to its website. 

News of the sale was first reported by the Community Advocate. 

The Regal Cinema at the site closed in 2007 as its leased near expiration, according to CinemaTreasures.com, a website tracking the history of movie houses. Regal had been paying property taxes for the site, and after its closing, the Town of Westborough was unable to reach Westborough SPE, the property’s then-owner, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. 

The January sale happened after it was authorized by Jonathan Goldsmith, the trustee serving as part of Westborough SPE’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. Goldsmith and the Town had been working together to market the property for sale, according to a Nov. 7 press release from Westborough. 

BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha’s bid of $5.1 million was the highest offer received. Its offer surpassed separate bids by Georgia-based Pulte Homes of New England LLC and New York-based Enjoi 77 Holdings LLC to develop multi-family residential at the site, a bid by Ferris Development Group of Southborough to bid a mixed-use development, and a bid by Westborough-based Connect United to build a church at the site.

The agreement with BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha will see it sell its current house of worship site at 275 Turnpike Road to a taxable entity, mitigating the impact of 231 Turnpike Road being taken off the Town’s tax rolls. The agreement sees Westborough compensated for outstanding taxes, fees, and interest on the property. 

The site at 231 Turnpike Road received a 2026 assessment value of $1.88 million, according to municipal property records. 

Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.