ROUTE 30 MALL
Cochituate and Caldor Roads
Framingham, Massachusetts
Greater Boston's Golden Triangle area is a collection of regional malls, mini-malls, discount marts and big box stores. It is situated 17 miles southwest of the Boston Common, straddling the Framingham and Natick corporation line.
The first two shopping malls in this concentration of commerce, SHOPPERS' WORLD and NATICK MALL, opened for business in 1951 and 1966, respectively. The area's third shopping mall was substantially smaller than these two buying behemoths.
ROUTE 30 MALL was to occupy 5 acres at the corner of Cochituate Road (State Route 30) and Caldor Road. The mini-mall, which encompassed 68,700 leasable square feet, was built by M.T. Rhodes. A building permit, for an eleven-store retail center, was issued on May 20, 1970.
Anchoring the original ROUTE 30 MALL was a 1-level (30,900 square foot) Big Buy Food Center. This supermarket held its grand opening on February 22, 1971. Other charter ROUTE 30 MALL tenants were Hit or Miss ladies' wear, Papa Gino's Pizza and a Beaconway Fabric Center.
ROUTE 30 MALL was joined by two other community-class rivals in the late 1970s. FRAMINGHAM MALL {.25 mile northeast, in Framingham} and NATICK TOWNE MALL {1 mile east, in Natick} opened for business during 1978 and 1979.
Over the years, ROUTE 30 MALL tenants came and went. After the Big Buy store folded, its space was leased as a Channel Home Center, Child World toy store, Computer City, Office Depot and Frugal Fannie's. This store closed in late 2003, with its space sitting vacant for over a year.
Burlington, Massachusetts-based Filene's Basement renovated the store structure, which had been expanded into a 41,900 square foot operation. Filene's Basement opened November 17, 2004, but was shuttered in late 2011.
In the 2010s, ROUTE 30 MALL housed eight tenant spaces. The shopping center was owned and operated by Rochester, New York-based First Allied Corporation, who acquired it in February 2005. Twenty-first century tenants include Auto Zone (which operates in the old Big Buy space), Lotus Buffet, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Tennessee's Barbeque, Brooklyn Water Bagels, Boston Market, Big Fresh Cafe, Papa Gino's Pizza and a freestanding Bank of America.
Sources:
The Boston Globe
Framingham Natick Retail / Justin Tardiff webmaster
Town of Framingham, Massachusetts online database
www.firstalliedcorp.com
http://glazer.com / Glazer Properties
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