Property owned by PawSox heir may become gas station
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75 Quinsigamond Ave. is a vacant lot and the site of a proposal to construct a convenience store.
Plans for a gas station and convenience store to fill a 1.5-acre plot of land on Quinsigamond Avenue in Worcester is slated to go before the zoning board on Monday, roughly a month after city residents shot down a similar proposal on Park Avenue.
The applicant is Neon Marketplace, a proprietary brand of Rhode Island-based real estate firm Procaccianti Cos. Neon Marketplace is a convenience store brand and opened a shop including a pizza joint and cafe in Warwick, R.I. in July.
The firm submitted plans for a 5,800-square-foot convenience store and gas station at 75 Quinsigamond Ave. including new parking spots, landscaping, and lighting.
The story was first reported by Patch.
The parcel is owned by James Skeffington Jr., son of the late Jim Skeffington who worked with Worcester Red Sox owner and chairman Larry Lucchino to purchase the then Pawtucket Red Sox in 2015. Skeffington, Jr., who is president and CEO of Providence-based real estate firm Red Beam Partners, LLC, is still listed as a limited partner of the PawSox in his company bio, but is not listed on the WooSox site.
In late 2019, Skeffington bought 75 Quinsigamond Ave. for $1 million from the Worcester Business Development Corp. A few months later he purchased four more empty parcels in the same area about a mile from Polar Park.
Before Skeffington’s purchase, the property had been the site of John J. Nissen Baking Co. for more than 50 years, but it closed in 1998. The WBDC obtained the property in 2011 for $100.
Neither Skeffington nor the WBDC were available for comment on the plans.
The Quinsigamond Avenue gas station proposal was originally supposed to go before the zoning board on Dec. 8, but the representing attorney asked for a postponement after a similar project faced significant backlash.
The project that faced resistance was a proposal by the owners of Austin Liquors on Park Avenue to construct a gas station and car wash on a vacant lot next to the package store. After residents and board members expressed displeasure at the plan due to the number of already existing gas stations in close proximity to the site, the developer withdrew the plan.
After asking for a postponement, the Quinsigamond Avenue developers will have their plan heard Monday night. It is also on the agenda for Wednesday night’s planning board meeting. (Editors' Update: The applicant requested a postponement of the hearing until Jan. 31).
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Wouldn't the lot owned by Austin Liquors on Park Ave. make a dandy site for low-income housing?? A high rise on that site would be perfect for that... And, the residents would not have to travel far to get gas. They would be near pharmacies, too.
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