Board Wants Answers From Stop & Shop On Former Grand Union Site

By: Diana T. Barth
Published: 06/25/10

Stop & Shop spokesman Faith Weiner said Wednesday that the former Grand Union site at MacArthur Boulevard and Clay Pond Road has “fatal flaws” that make it less than desirable for a supermarket.

Reached Wednesday—the morning after Bourne selectmen discussed their impression that the supermarket company was holding the Monument Beach property “hostage”—Ms. Weiner said access to the site from Route 28 was “a danger,” and that two previous supermarkets had tried to succeed on the site, but failed.

Besides Grand Union, the location was once home to an A&P supermarket.

Stop & Shop took over the lease of the site when it purchased the Grand Union store in Provincetown. As a part of that sale package, it picked up the lease to Bourne’s Grand Union, Ms. Weiner said. The Bourne lease runs until 2024.

Ms. Weiner said that, in the past, Stop & Shop “has offered to terminate” that lease, but “the landlord declined.”

A spokesman for that landlord, Marwick Associates LLC of Lexington, said his company has met with Stop & Shop representatives several times with the hope of interesting them in opening a store at the site, but to no avail.

For all that Stop & Shop “offered” to terminate the lease, Marwick cannot let them out of that agreement unless or until a tenant can be found with equal ability to pay the rent every month, he said.

The representative also said he believes Stop & Shop is waiting to see whether (and which) grocery store moves into the Sagamore Outlet Mall location recently purchased by Compass Bourne LLC.

The principals of that company have said they intend to move forward with the redevelopment of the mall, and that the change in ownership did not change the permitting, or the plan for a grocery store to be built.
The project has not, as yet, broken ground, however, nor has the identity of the interested grocery store been disclosed.

Marwick Associates believe that once that project begins, Stop & Stop will make a final decision as to whether to develop the MacArthur Boulevard site, sublease it, or allow the landlord to do so.

Right now, however, the plaza owners cannot “let them off the hook,” their spokesman said.

In the meantime, Bourne selectmen said Tuesday, the town has done everything it can to ensure that any grocery store interested in the Grand Union parcel would be met with open arms.

Town officials have been coordinating with the Cape Cod Commission to discuss changes that would overcome problems with access and signage were a new tenant for the area to be identified.

In May, selectmen sent a letter to Timothy Mahoney of Stop & Shop’s real estate division in Quincy, asking that a representative from Stop & Shop come to a selectmen’s meeting to discuss the site.

Asked about that letter, Ms. Weiner said that Mr. Mahoney would be answering the selectmen’s letter, and providing them with information, but would not likely be attending a meeting.

2 Responses to "Board Wants Answers From Stop & Shop On Former Grand Union Site"

1. stucky says: 07/08/10
   

   BS stop and shop has enough stores in the area! When are people going smarter up!!!!! do not ever shop there again!!!!!
2. stucky says: 07/08/10
   

   The two previous stores went out of business begause poor mgt and both went bankrupt due to their own failing!!!!!!