Franklin

Dean College in Franklin announced Wednesday that Kenneth Elmore will serve as its 14th president and former Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus will be the school’s first-ever chancellor. Elmore is the college's first Black president.

Dean College in Franklin will rename its student center after President Paula Rooney, as she leaves her position after 27 years in the role.

Piccadilly Plaza, a 16,000-square-foot office and shopping complex on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, could be demolished and redeveloped into three new commercial buildings under a proposal submitted to the Worcester Conservation Commission.

MassDevelopment, the state’s development agency, issued a $16.5-million tax-exempt bond to Attleboro autism services nonprofit Amego Inc., to buy 16 facilities, including seven in Central Massachusetts.

Since 2020, more than half of Central Massachusetts’ colleges and universities have seen a transition in top leadership, with eight presidents leaving or announcing their departure in the last two years.

Dean College in Franklin has extended its exclusive partnership with Kraft Sports + Entertainment, the division which oversees marketing for the New England Patriots and New England Revolution, for another 10 years.

A 55,000-square-foot manufacturing building in Franklin sold for $9.6 million, according to a release from Greater Boston Commercial Properties, Inc.

Following statewide trends, Worcester County single-family home prices continued to rise at a 10.3% clip in January, but the number of sales fell 7.1%, according to a Wednesday report from Peabody-based research firm The Warren Group.

Station 117 Apartments, located on Dean Avenue in Franklin, sold for $129.1 million on Dec. 20, marking a rate of roughly $500,000 per unit, according to the Norfolk Registry of Deeds.

A Franklin warehouse sold for $16.95 million to Black Creek Group, a Denver-based real estate investment firm, according to Norfolk Land Court Registry District.