Westborough

The Charitable Foundation of Bay State Savings Bank has awarded $16,000 in grants to nine local nonprofit organizations.

Real Deals highlights recent commercial property transactions in Central Massachusetts.

The amount of available Class A office space —the kind sought by large companies with big rent budgets — is dwindling in the Route 495 West market. But there are still large blocks of vacant space, and the market may have a ways to go before reaching optimal strength. A recent report by Boston commercial real estate firm Transwestern|RBJ found that Class A office availability totaled just a hair above 20 percent in the first quarter, which closed March 31. According to Transwestern, that's the lowest rate of availability in the I-495 West submarket since 2007. “The market is definitely heating up and deals are getting done,” said Marci Alvarado, a commercial real estate broker with Parsons Commercial Group in Framingham.

A study commissioned by eClinicalWorks of Westborough finds strong use and acceptance of technology by patients to communicate with their doctors about medical issues.

Business consulting and technology outsourcing company Virtusa Corp. of Westborough has acquired all the outstanding shares of Apparatus Inc. for $34.2 million cash. The Indianapolis-based company provides end-to-end IT infrastructure services.

It was persona non grata when it floated plans to open in Boston in 2012, but Chik-fil-A has had little trouble growing its New England footprint with new locations in MetroWest. The Framingham Planning Board approved plans last week for the privately-held fast food franchise, to build a restaurant between routes 9 and 30, adjacent to Kohl's. Sandwiched between the two roads in the Shoppers' World plaza, construction is expected to begin this summer with an opening planned for early 2016, according to company spokeswoman Brenda Morrow.

10. Go green when expanding.Consider low-impact materials and “precycling.” During its 2014 expansion in Westborough, CSG purchased...

Westborough-based Chitika Inc., an Internet advertising company, on Wednesday announced it will spin off its mobile advertising business unit, Cidewalk. Chitika is investing $4 million to fund the spinoff, according to a statement, and Cidewalk has purchased office space in Southborough to accommodate staffing growth. Chitika expects Cidewalk, launched in 2014, to generate $10 million in gross revenue over the next year, the statement said.

Energy efficiency services provider Conservation Services Group of Westborough has landed a two-year, multi-million-dollar contract with a utility in Ohio, its fourth deal with utilities in the state, the company said.

A 2013 study found that the average smartphone user swipes to unlock 110 times a day. With smartwatches entering the market, it's getting even easier for us to get the data we want in less than a second. Westborough-based Kopin Corp. says it won't end there.