Spotlight 5: Riverbridge Struggles To Compete
File Photo
WAITING GAME: Northborough Crossing has put pressure on the Riverbridge development. A rendering of the Berlin project is shown above.
The first phase of a $70-million, five-year commercial-residential development named Riverbridge in Berlin is set to open in the coming weeks, according to developer Matthew Senie.
The project is adjacent to the Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough and is less than a half-mile from Interstate 290. The first phase includes a Shell gas station and a 3,500-square-foot convenience store.
As for the rest of the development, which includes new housing and commercial shopping space, Senie is still working out the details.
When complete, Riverbridge is expected to include about 250 residential units, including about 150 medium-priced townhouses, apartments and small houses, as well as a roughly 100-bed assisted living facility.
Competing Projects
But another major development just west of Riverbridge — Northborough Crossing — could be throwing some kinks into Senie’s plans. Among the stores opening there is the region’s first Wegmans supermarket, a New York-based family owned chain.
Riverbridge’s master plan includes a 130,000-square-foot commercial plaza, complete with a market, some national chain restaurants and some mom-and-pop stores, Senie said.
Once he secures tenants for the commercial properties, construction will begin on that portion of the development. Finding those tenants is where Senie has felt the squeeze of Rochester-based Wegmans.
Senie said potential tenants have already told him that they want to wait before committing to the project to see how Wegmans will impact other retailers in the area.
Because of the feedback, Senie has scaled back the food mart he was looking to open at the development. Instead of having an anchor supermarket on the site, there will be a smaller market.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments