The owner of The Shoppes at Blackstone Valley has purchased the Speedway Plaza in Westborough for $18.73 million.
Deed records indicate that R.K. Westboro LLC, an affiliate of Dedham-based RK Centers, bought the plaza, anchored by a Burlington Coat Factory and Stop & Shop, June 13 from Columbia Speedway Plaza LLC, which is affiliated with Jacksonville-based Regency Centers.
“We know the market, and we feel that with our touch, we can change the look of the property,” said Kenneth Fries, RK Centers’ director of leasing and acquisitions.
The 184,000-square-foot complex at 290 Turnpike Road has nearly 18,000 square feet of vacant space, much of which is left over from when BJ’s Wholesale Club relocated to Northborough Crossing. Other major tenants at Speedway include Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park, and Chick-fil-A, which is expected to open at the start of October.
RK Centers’ pre-existing relationship with Stop & Shop – as well as the popularity of Sky Zone – made the site appealing, Fries said. Stop & Shop has a lease at the site running through the end of 2021, according to CBRE, which marketed the property for sale.
He said RK Centers plans to address Speedway Plaza’s perceived lack of visibility through re-landscaping the property, improve the facades and take care of deferred maintenance. He said industry concerns about the well-being of area shopping centers after Wegman’s moved to Northborough Crossing turned out to be overblown.
“If you put a little elbow grease into it and spruce up the property, you can really turn it around,” Fries said.
In addition of The Shoppes at Blackstone Valley, RK Centers owns shopping centers in Bellingham, Hudson, Marlborough, Sutton and Worcester, as well as an office complex in Marlborough.
The shopping center was built in 1987 and offers some 925 parking spaces, according to marketing brochures. Regency Centers purchased the property in October 2006 for $22 million.
