93
Union workers ratified a new two-year labor deal at Community Healthlink after a tentative contract was reached. The nonprofit affiliated with UMass Memorial Health that provides recovery services in mental health, substance use and homelessness laid off 80 employees and took dozens of treatment beds offline after a surprise state inspection in 2023. Tamara Lundi, Community Healthlink’s president at the time, left the organization; no reason was given. The union claimed subpar wages kept the facility understaffed and some beds and programs from reopening. The vote resulted in 93% of union members ratifying the new deal.
50
Shrewsbury is set to get another sweet tooth pleaser when Crumbl Cookies opens a location in the White City Plaza. The sixth Crumbl location for Millbury’s Dennis Sosa and his business partner Richard Howell, the shop will open next to Jimmy’s Tavern & Grill at the former Thai Place restaurant, 50 Boston Turnpike. Sosa said the opening is expected to be in late January or early February. The duo opened their first location at The Shops at Blackstone Valley in Millbury in 2022. They also own locations in Hudson, Attleboro, Foxboro and East Greenwich, Rhode Island.
81
A Georgia-headquartered smoothie chain recently opened at the former location of Worcester Girl Scouts Center at 81 Gold Star Blvd. Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a chain with more than 1,500 locations across the nation, is run by a family partnership that operates numerous liquor stores, smoke shops, convenience stores and gas stations in the area. The operators, father-and-son duo Bharatkumar Patel, 50, and Manav Patel, 20, of North Grafton, also opened Indian street food chain EggHolic in January at a plaza off Route 9 in Shrewsbury. Tropical Smoothie Cafe serves a wide variety of smoothies as well as sandwiches, salads and other savory options.
845,000
The Shrewsbury Planning Board greenlit plans for an 845,500-square-foot United Parcel Service distribution warehouse. The Dec. 5 vote was unanimous for the construction of the building that the developer plans to stretch across the Shrewsbury/Grafton town line on 212 acres spreading behind the Grafton Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail stop. The Grafton Planning Board also approved the warehouse, a representative for the New Jersey-based developer Prologis Inc. said at the meeting. The land where the project is found is largely undeveloped. It is owned by BT-Newyo LLC, the holding company for Atlanta-based UPS.
185
Watertown-based SMC Management Corp. has its sights set on 185 market-rate apartments on a portion of the former Table Talk Pies factory property on Green and Washington streets. The portion for the development would be the site that was originally planned for a 375 market-rate apartment building that included the former Smokestack Urban Barbecue property. The portion of the factory property was once phase III of Boston-based Tremont Development Partners’ redevelopment of the site. However, the developer reported hitting delays February 2024 and development partner Quarterra Multifamily Communities left the project. In 2023, SMC purchased 5 Madison St. from Winterspring Capital LLC, of Tewksbury.
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