Article by Henry Schwan for the MetroWest Daily News (October 28, 2020)

Written by Henry Schwan for the MetroWest Daily News (February 13, 2020)

​Natick-based developer Stonegate Group, LLC, wants to tear down the former St. Patrick’s school on East Central Street, and replace it with a mixed-use development.

NATICK – A developer plans to tear down the former St. Patrick’s School, which has sat vacant for at least five years on East Central Street near downtown, and replace it with a mixed-use development that includes a restaurant, housing and an underground parking garage.

Selectmen unanimously approved a development agreement Monday night.

“Nothing is approved,” board Chairman Michael Hickey said in stressing that the agreement does not represent a final decision. Several layers of additional local and state approval are also necessary.

Developer Stonegate Group, LLC, in Natick plans to build up to 54 rental units, 25% classified as affordable.

Stonegate President Dean Calivas laid out the details - one building on East Central Street that includes ground-level retail and 46 rental units above on an undetermined number of floors; plus, four two-family town homes located behind the building.

Stonegate bought the former school, and three lots - 4 and 6 Lincoln St. and 5 Wilson St. – in 2015 for $3.4 million from the Archdiocese of Boston. All four parcels total 1.8 acres, and will encompass the project.

One motivation for the project, Hickey said, is to maintain Natick’s total housing stock at 10% affordable. The town is just over the threshold, and adding more affordable units should help guarantee Natick stays there after the 2020 U.S. census is complete. Because all units would be rentals, all would count toward the town’s affordable housing stock, said James Freas, Natick’s director of Community and Economic Development.

Communities below the 10% mark are susceptible to hostile 40B projects that allow a developer to bypass some local regulations to build projects bigger than a community wants.

The Stonegate project is a so-called “friendly 40B,” which gives the town more influence over the project’s outcome, Hickey said.

Calivas said 20% of the affordable units are available to families who earn 30-50% of the Area Median Income, which is the middle number of all incomes for a given area. The rest of the affordable units are for those that earn 80% of the AMI.

To facilitate the project, selectmen will sponsor two articles at Town Meeting in April. Both must pass to move the project forward.

One extends the downtown mixed-use zone to include land for the Stonegate project. Currently, the 1.8 acres are zoned residential.

The second article grants a liquor license to the site, which is necessary to put a restaurant on the ground floor.

Even with Town Meeting approval, Calivas said there are other hurdles to clear, including approval from the state Attorney General’s Office, final qualification as a 40B project and clearance from the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

Calivas hopes to break ground in the spring of 2021, and said a community meeting on Feb. 25 will solicit community feedback. A time and location haven’t been determined.

Natick’s 2030 Master Plan, developed by the town, calls for a vibrant downtown that includes more housing, with shops and restaurants within walking distance. According to Hickey, projects like the one planned by Stonegate fit the bill.
​
“We’re responding to what the community says it wants,” Hickey said.

​You can also follow us on Facebook at Stonegate Group LLC Saint Patricks Project or by clicking here.​

Article written by Rachel Kashdan for Boston Magazine

Looking for a fun challenge? Try not to touch anything at Modern Relik’s new 6,000 square-foot home showroom. Located on 485 Harrison Avenue in the South End, the space teems with plush furnishings and chic accessories. Thankfully, running your hands over everything in the store isn’t just okay—it’s encouraged.

Owner and designer Meg Kimball’s philosophy is to give customers a “sensory experience,” she says, which starts with a European-style coffee bar located in the front of the store and continues to the back, where vintage and new pieces in covetable textures and finishes flawlessly intermingle. “My overall concept is to create something that’s new and different—more experience-oriented—and give people a reason to get off the couch and come in,” Kimball says.

After converting Modern Relik’s two-year-old Waltham location to a trade-only showroom, Kimball came across this expansive raw space near SoWa Open Market, and it instantly “screamed our name” she says.

With a location secured and a concept for a new open-to-the-public shop in mind, she then recruited restaurateur Michela Larson to help her add food and drink to the equation in the form of a café called MOD Espresso. The goal? To entice even non-shoppers to come in off the street for coffee from La Colombe, MEM tea, and bites ranging from toasts made with Clear Flour bread to Toscanini’s ice cream sandwiches, all served on Modern Relik’s own dishware. “I didn’t want something that just felt like I was putting a Starbucks up at the front of the store,” Kimball explains. “I wanted it to be really integrated.” Across from the coffee bar, the showroom also features a floral shop with a selection of seasonal blooms and decorative vessels, as well as a floor-to-ceiling display of design-themed Rizzoli coffee-table books.

Head further back into the expansive space, though, and that’s where you’ll find Kimball’s treasure trove: an array of eye-catching vintage and new furniture, décor, textiles, and gifts designed both by her own company, as well as artisans the owner discovered while traveling the globe. Shoppers can buy right off the floor, but nearly every piece is customizable, too.

All of the goods are displayed in curated-yet-approachable vignettes (think: a dreamy cream-hued bedroom or a group of beautifully styled tablescapes) that make it easy to imagine yourself sleeping, dining, or kicking back in every single setup. And luckily, if you need a little help making that vision a reality, the showroom’s in-house design team, led by design director John Dransfield, formerly of Dransfield & Ross, can assist on projects big and small.

With the store being open just over a week, Kimball says its debut has fulfilled a “lifelong dream,” adding that the team couldn’t be happier with the reception so far. “People are thrilled,” Kimball says. “We’re finding it very fun and invigorating.”

​ Peek inside the showroom below.  (Photo credits:  Melissa Ostrow)

From the Framingham Economic Development & Industrial Corporation's (EDIC) July 1, 2019 newsletter
​

​Since purchasing 92 Blandin Avenue in 2015, the Stonegate Group has made a number of important improvements to the property, including a new roof, signage, parking lot improvements, various building improvements, energy-efficient lighting as well as a 1,070kW rooftop solar energy system completed in 2018.  

​Shortly after acquiring the property, the occupancy rate dipped to the mid-30% range. Today the building is over 90% occupied with one remaining unit available for lease (a 22,454 square foot high-bay industrial space). 
 
The businesses at 92 Blandin Ave are a diverse group including Phoenix Trading Company (retail), DetraPel (tech) and the MetroWest Dance Academy (creative economy). This month, Choose Framingham spoke with representatives of these companies to learn more about them. Other companies at this location include Show Rig Boston, Philips Lifeline, West Springfield Auto Parts, C&R Flooring, and United Way of Tri-County. 
 
Phoenix Trading Company
Marc Cohen, the President of Phoenix Trading Company, talked about why they have found Framingham to be the ideal location to grow the company.
 
Tell us a little about Phoenix Trading Company - what do you do?
Phoenix Trading Company (PTC) is a direct-to-consumer (B2C), online retailer of off-price merchandise. The Company sells a wide variety of branded merchandise, but specializes in plus size women's apparel, health & beauty products and home goods. Our primary sales channels are online, 3rd-party marketplaces such as eBay, Sears, Walmart, and Kmart among a few others.
 
Tell us a little more about your history - how did you start and why did you end up choosing Framingham as a location? 
In 1999, I left my career as an engineer in the defense industry to join a dotcom. When the "bubble" burst, I picked up the pieces, subleased 700 sq ft from a machine shop, and started Phoenix Trading. Our space requirements grew over the years, and now we occupy 18,000 sq ft here on Blandin Ave. The space is ideal for our operation, super cost-effective, with good access to a hard-working labor force.
 
Describe how you benefit from being in the space on Blandin Avenue and what you like best about that location.
The space itself is very efficient for us. It's an old building, but there have been significant upgrades. There is plenty of room for the tractor-trailers which pull up to our docks weekly. There is also a great selection of interesting little restaurants when I need a quick lunch.
 
What do your employees like best about being located in Framingham?
The staff appreciates the easy access. About half of our people live in Framingham, the others, including myself, live east of here. The reverse commuter traffic and proximity to major roadways makes it an easy commute.
 
Customers can find them online at or follow them on Facebook.
 
DetraPel
Choose Framingham also caught up with David Zamarin at DetraPel to find out more about his growing tech company.
 
Tell us a little about DetraPel.
Our company manufactures superhydrophobic non-toxic coatings that prolong the life of your favorite belongings. Using innovative nanotechnology, DetraPel liquid repellents create harmless, PFAS-Free, invisible barriers that protect your items from damage caused by water, other liquids and even food! The benefits and surfaces are endless based on the technology. Whether you want to protect your white carpet from wine stains, your new shoes from getting dirty outside, or your car seats from morning rush-hour coffee spills, DetraPel has got you covered. 
 
DetraPel's guiding philosophy lies in our commitment to provide non-toxic protective coatings that do not contain harmful fluorochemicals. Unlike the vast amount of carcinogenic chemicals currently present in widely used products from other manufacturers, we reject incorporating toxic components in our production. We have developed a line of products that people can use without the fear of harming themselves, their children, friends, pets or planet. We believe our ability to lead by example will make a significant impact on the chemical manufacturing industry.
 
What brought you to Framingham?
When looking for a place to settle our headquarters in, we looked for striking the right partnership with the right people. Stonegate Group was a big portion of the reason we chose Framingham. The environment and central location was key for manufacturing and logistics. Overall, we were convinced that we could attract talent to our Shark-Tank featured company and could retain the talent because of the area. With Framingham's expansion plans, we expect our growth to interdependently work with the local government and hope that we can give back to the families of Framingham.
 
You can find more information about DetralPel at their website or on Facebook or Twitter.
 
MetroWest Dance Academy
Choose Framingham lastly caught up with Gemma Williams, the Director of Metrowest Dance Academy.
 
What type of space were you looking for?
I had been looking for a very large open plan space to house dance studios and sizeable reception area so that families would have the space to relax while waiting for their children. I found just that at 92 Blandin Avenue and additionally the space is entirely lined with huge windows throwing natural light across the whole length of the school.  We love it!
 
Why did you choose Framingham?
The site is situated very close to downtown and this means that families can enjoy the local area as they wait. We have students from Framingham and surrounding towns that can easily drive to our studio. We also employ teachers and trainee teachers from Boston Conservatory at Berklee that use the commuter rail in downtown Framingham, which is only a 10-minute walk away. 
 
For more information on the unit still available for lease, contact Marlene Aron of Metrowest Commercial Real Estate. 

written by Brian Benson, originally published in the Metrowest Daily News on December 27, 2017.