Project of the Month: Retailers at Galaxy Development’s Pleasant Valley Crossing Shopping Center off to a flying start!

Pleasant Valley Crossing Shopping Center - Sutton, MA

Sutton, MA Home to the first ever ground up Market 32 grocery store by Price Chopper, the Pleasant Valley Crossing shopping center is quickly  becoming a major success story for Auburn based developer Galaxy Development.   A 57,000 s/f Market 32 opened in late October of 2015 and shortly thereafter construction started on three additional retail buildings that are now home to several more thriving stores. Five Guys, Verizon, Starbucks, Uni-Bank, and Q-Nails have all opened in the past couple of months and Great Clips and Pleasant Valley Dental will be opening soon, thus bringing the 75,000 s/f of Phase I close to completion.  The steel was erected just a couple of weeks ago for a 4,000 s/f building right next to Market 32. 

“We waited until 2016 to start this last building.  It is so close to the grocery store we didn’t want it to interfere with the grand opening,” said Nigel Doyle, director of construction for Galaxy Development.

The site includes over 30 acres of prime land situated on the east side of Rte. 146 which connects to the signalized intersection of Boston Road.   The plaza opened on the heels of the completion of an extensive highway improvement project by MA DOT that included over $6 million dollars of road improvements to Rte. 146 and the intersection of Boston Rd.  The new intersection features nine lanes at the signal light and provides simple access to the new shopping center development from all directions.   Galaxy then installed a traffic light at it’s Boston Road driveway as a second means of ingress and egress to the shopping center.   The existing traffic count on Route 146 is a staggering 50,000 cars per day.   

“What a great place for retailers to have a presence on our pylon sign,” said Michael O’Brien, principal of Galaxy Development, LLC.

With Galaxy just beginning to prepare for construction of Phase II which will add another 130,000 s/f of retail space, Pleasant Valley Crossing will become the major destination point from the Worcester border to the Rhode Island state line.   Several underserved communities south of the Worcester city line have become instant customers of the center and its tenants.   Besides Sutton itself, which boasts an AHH of over $137,000, residents of other surrounding towns such as Douglas, East Douglas, Millbury, Uxbridge, Northbridge, Whitinsville, Millville and the east side of Oxford also frequent the stores.

The success and opening of the project has been a culmination of the efforts of a lot of people.   The town of Sutton and its various boards, The Building Department and The Planning Department have been key components in helping the project succeed. The civil engineering for the project was provided by Heritage Design of Whitinsville and MidPoint Engineering of Auburn, Mass.  Traffic engineering was done by Green International Affiliates, Inc of Westford, Mass.  Galaxy used the architectural services of Gregory J. O’Connor Associates, Inc. for the retail buildings, and Cuhaci Peterson of Orlando, Fla. for the grocery store.   Aho Construction was the contractor for the smaller retail shops, and Basse Hatfield was the GC for the Market 32 grocery store.

A UniBank which is located alongside of the Rte. 146 entrance opened in May was constructed by F.W. Maddigan out of Worcester.

Financing for the development was provided by People’s United Bank.   Kelleher & Sadowsky Associates, Inc. of Worcester was the both the listing and the selling broker.  Attorney Larry Brodeur of Fletcher Tilton, PC of Worcester represented Galaxy Development throughout the permitting process.

The back portion of the property includes land suitable for multifamily development which is overlooking a picturesque pond.   Galaxy is presently in the process of negotiating with residential developers that are interested in building between 60 to 70 new condominiums or apartments in this thriving area. The site has all city utilities and has its own private road access from Boston Rd. making it an easy commute to both the Worcester and Providence job markets.

“The best is yet to come,” O’Brien said speaking of Phase II which has two restaurant pad opportunities and some full service licenses available from the town. “We are talking to a variety of restaurants including a bistro and sushi bar, Italian theme and traditional American pub style restaurants as well.  The market is greatly underserved and the success of our stores proves this location to be a tremendous retail destination. The residents in the communities this center is serving are thirsty for more choices and we plan on delivering that to them.”

Galaxy Development has been involved in several projects in central Mass. in recent years, including the East Village Square and Mill Brook Plaza developments in Webster. Galaxy Properties can be found throughout New England and New York.