Officials laud long-awaited Longmeadow Shops expansion

May 4, 2017 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

State Rep. Brian Ashe, left, brought greetings from the House to Steve Walker of Grove Property Fund at the official opening of the expansion of the Longmeadow Shops. Reminder Publications photo by G. Michael Dobbs



LONGMEADOW  – With the official ribbon cutting on the addition to the Longmeadow Shops,  a two year-plus process comes to a conclusion.

Longmeadow residents, merchants and town officials joined Steve Walker, owner of Grove Property Fund, the owners of the shopping area and state Sen. Eric Lesser and state Rep. Brian Ashe at the ceremony on April 27.

Walker told Reminder Publications the 21,000 square foot addition – which houses J. Crew Mercantile, Verizon Wireless and CVS Pharmacy with a drive-through – cost $5 million to complete and created 60 part and full time jobs.

Walker added the new addition and the renovations to the parking lot and entrances and exits to the shopping area have “dramatically improved” pedestrian safety.

The shopping area was built in 1960 and Grove Property Fund acquired it in 1994, Walker explained.

“The strong mix of local, regional and national tenants has been a recipe for success,” he said.

The expansion was not without controversy within the town and Lesser referred to the “long hours of planning” that went into the project.”

He added, “It’s impossible to think of Longmeadow without this parcel.”

Ashe said the project “hit some bumps, but it [the process] was fairly smooth.”

Recalling going to the shops as a youth he said, “The shops epitomized what Longmeadow was ... The shops have changed for the better and changed with the people.”

Chair of the Select Board Marie Angelides called the shops “an iconic part of Longmeadow.”

She added, “Go to other towns and you see what a blessing it is.”

Town Manager Stephen Crane lauded Grove Property for its role in the expansion process and added that it was “a struggle in many ways.” The expansion had to be approved by voters at the Town Meeting in 2015.

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