Four Central Mass. cities make $10K vacant storefront program
Photo | Grant Welker
A vacant storefront on Worcester's Main Street has been vacant for much of recent years except for when it briefly housed a Zoup! restaurant.
Worcester, Fitchburg, Framingham and Marlborough are among eight communities across Massachusetts to make a new incentive program targeting empty storefronts.
Businesses leasing in an empty storefront in certain districts in each city are eligible for up to $10,000 in refundable state tax credits. The program is meant to help cities revitalize their downtown and commercial areas by encouraging new retail or other uses.
This spring, the Worcester City Council approved the creation of a special district for which the city could be considered for the state's inaugural empty storefront program, for which participants were announced by the state Thursday.
The Worcester zone stretches along Main Street from the former Worcester County Courthouse to May and Hammond streets; along Pleasant Street from the intersection of Main Street to the intersection of Park Avenue; and along Chandler Street from Main Street to Park Avenue.
The city counted 44 vacant storefronts in those corridors in its application to the state for inclusion in the program.
Fitchburg said it hopes to add three or four new businesses along its Main Street corridor, which has suffered from high vacancy rates in recent years. The city listed 29 storefronts along or just off Main Street that have stood empty for a year or longer.
"In many cases, property owners either let their buildings sit vacant, waiting for the 'right' tenant, or conversely, will lend out to anyone willing to pay a month's rent, without regard for the long-term viability of the business, or strategic impact of their decision," Tom Skwierawski, Fitchburg's executive director for community development, said in the city's application to the state.
Framingham listed six vacant properties in its application on Concord, Waverly, Park and Irving streets downtown. Storefronts at those properties have sat vacant for more than a year while new housing development have popped up in the neighborhood or are in the works.
Marlborough included four vacant properties on Main Street in its downtown between Court Street and Mechanic Street.
Along with the four Central Massachusetts cities, others included were Gloucester, Greenfield, Lowell and Taunton. A total of 129 vacant storefronts among those cities are included in the program.
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