Trapelo Road Cheese Shop Seeking Beer/Wine License

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Co-owners Jen Bonislawski and Artur Nergaryan of Art’s Specialities on Trapelo Road.

Artur Nergaryan said his customers – from first-timers to his regulars – keep asking him the same question.

“People will go around and pick up a salami, some cheese and bread and then ask, ‘Where’s your wine?'” said Nergaryan, the co-owner with his wife, Jen Bonislawski, of Art’s Specialities at 369 Trapelo Rd.

That consumer demand has prompted the couple come before the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday, June 22, seeking a license to sell beer and wine from their new speciality food store, located across the street from the Studio Cinema near the corner of Beech Street.

But the application does not mean the couple is seeking to change the tenor of the store’s character or focus.

“[Beer and wine] is not our main business; it will be complementary to what we are already selling,” said Bonislawski. The couple hopes to carve out a small section of the store near the checkout counter to sell a select number of moderately-priced wines and popular craft beers.

“It will provide that extra something that [customers] said they want,” said Nergaryan.

The Watertown couple opened the speciality store three months ago in the former location of Diver’s Jim. The 1,700 sq.-ft. store front sells an large array of regional cheeses, olive oils and balsamic vinegars, herbs, charcuteries (prepare meats including bacon, ham, sausage, pâtés and confit) as well as loose seeds, tea and nuts. It has begun stocking some prepared foods and is the only store in Belmont where you can buy your pickles – five varieties – straight from the barrel.

IMG_9308

But the couple will be coming before a board that has not awarded a retail beer and wine license in years. In the past 18 months, the board has rejected applications by three Trapelo Road stores – each within a few blocks of Art’s – and from Jimmy’s Food Mart at the corner of Belmont and School streets which was denied a license in March. The business has since closed after a fire destroyed the location. 

The former board that rejected the earlier bids criticized the nature of the businesses – quick-visit variety or convenient stores – which sold lottery tickets and tobacco products, fearing they would quickly evolve into package stores.

But unlike the previous applicants, Bonislawski contends Art’s Specialties – which does not hold a lottery license or sells cigarettes – will remain true to its current business plan.

“Sometimes when a store receives a liquor license, they begin pushing the alcohol. That’s not the case here,” said Bonislawski.

For the working couple – Nergaryan is a bank manager in Belmont and Bonislawski a librarian in Cambridge – Art’s is an opportunity to break into retail trade with what Nergaryan is familiar with (he grew up making cheese after coming to the US from Armenia).

“We love being here, and we’ve received a good reception from other businesses and residents,” she said. “They said how much we’re helping change the neighborhood.”

Selectmen OK Woodfall Road Purchase And Sale, $1.75M Price Tag

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Woodfall Road site.

The Belmont Board of Selectmen approved a purchase and sale agreement for the purchase of town-owned property at the end of Woodfall Road to a Lexington developer for $1,750,000.

Dani Chedid of Lexington’s Phoenix Construction Group will now begin the formal process of purchasing the 5.25 acre parcel adjacent to the Belmont Country Club and in the Hillcrest neighborhood on the west side of Belmont Hill, said Sami Baghdady, chair of the Selectmen at its meeting Thursday, May 28.

Chedid, the lead of a three-person group, outbid Northland Residential of Burlington (which constructed the The Woodlands at Belmont Hill) by nearly $1.5 million in December 2013 to begin working with the town on a final price tag for the property that will be home to four luxury single-family homes. 

Seventeen months ago, Chedid offered $2.2 million of the site. Since then, the town – through Town Administrator David Kale’s office – and contractor have been negotiating a final price for the land after a long due diligence process that included environmental assessments, soil testing, monitoring wetland requirements and, at one point, discussions with the country club on the likelihood of golf balls flying onto the new homes, said Baghdady.

“Woodfall Road is a different site since the request for proposal,” said Baghdady, referring to the nearly half-a-million dollar reduction in the original offer. 

“Yet even now, it’s a much better award than the $750,000 [Northland] offered,” he said.

The P&S now requires the town to present a “clean” title and for a state environmental test to be conducted. In addition, Chedid will go before the Belmont Conservation Commission to request a “side” order to allow some relief to build on one of the four lots due to wetland concerns.

A final purchase of the land, which has been on the market for more than a decade, should occur in the next two to three months, said Baghdady.

With the Giant a Block Away, New Pharmacy Sets Focus on Service, Free Delivery

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Pharmacist Richard Simon at Belmont Pharmacy. 

When Jack wished to see the Giant, he had to climb a magic bean stalk that reached far into the sky.

All Robert Pavlan needs to do to find his “giant” is stick his head out the door of the newly-opened Belmont Pharmacy, look to the left and there is a 95,800 sq.-ft. CVS/pharmacy staring right back at him. 

But the life-long independent pharmacist, who came back to Belmont from living and working in California, there is no reason to believe that the town can’t accommodate another drug store. 

The storefront opened on Wednesday, May 20. The store is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.

“It will take this a couple of months to get this going,” said Richard Simon, a pharmacist who will run the business side of the new store located at 246 Trapelo Rd.

“We’re getting a feel for the neighborhood and getting good feedback,” said Simon, who has been a pharmacist for more than 20 years, opening up the pharmacy services at Boston’s Children’s Hospital and working at an independent pharmacy in Brookline in the late 1990s. 

With a third pharmacist in the fold, there is more than 70 years of experience in the store. 

A past resident, Pavlan wanted an opportunity to come back to “the neighborhood,” and took up that opportunity when he saw the storefront location open up on busy Trapelo Road.

“The space was available and, yes, he saw how close he’d be to another pharmacy,” said Simon.

But what a competitor; CVS is second only to Walgreens as the largest pharmacy chain in the US with more than 7,600 stores. It sells in a few minutes what Belmont Pharmacy could hope to provide in a year.

What they may lack in bulk, the new store will make up in service, said Simon.

“We’re going to be offering a lot to the community,” Simon said, such as blood pressure that customers can show their physician, blister packing for older customers, and patient profiles in which patient drug information is printed out in a wallet-sized card “because a lot of people are unaware just what their medications are and can be used if they are hospitalized.”

“And we will have free delivery in Belmont and Watertown, and that will expand when we expand,” said Simon.

What Belmont Pharmacy will not do is follow the national pharmacy model of becoming “a convenience store.” Inside the store is a few rows of over-the-counter medicines, cold relief and remedies for minor injuries.

“We’re not selling frozen pizza, bottled water, summer beach chairs; that’s not who we are,” said Simon. 

“We’re your pharmacist and we will look after you and your family.”

Simon said the store will be very competitive in pricing prescriptions with CVS.

“They get their drugs by the ton and we don’t. But their prices are set and we have the flexibility to set ours on need and demand,” he said.

The business has begun to canvas local doctors, the area hospitals including McLean and the town’s Board of Health and Council of Aging.

“There’s going to be outreach, but there has been a nice amount of groundswell of people coming in and saying, ‘We’re glad you’re here’,” said Simon.

Belmont Saving’s Foundation Passes $500K in Charitable Giving

By Leave a Comment

Photo: A new court will be installed in the Wenner Field House thanks in no small part of the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation. 

There will be a new varsity and junior varsity court in the Wenner Field House, thanks in no small part to the generosity from the same people that came through with the seed money for the new Underwood Pool. 

This week, the Belmont Youth Basketball Association received a $35,000 matching grant from the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation for the $180,000 it will cost to resurface the Belmont High School gymnasium floor.

Previously the Foundation successfully pledged a $200,000 matching grant to preserve Belmont’s new Underwood Pool.

With the gift to BYBA, the Foundation has surpassed $500,000 in charitable giving with its latest round of contributions to 13 other local organizations that received $82,000 in the past quarter, the Foundation announced Tuesday, May 19.

Formed when the bank became a public company in October 2012, the Foundation is dedicated to community activities and the promotion of charitable causes in the communities in which Belmont Savings Bank operates. Since its creation, the Foundation has contributed $552,580 to local groups in Belmont, Cambridge, Watertown, Waltham and Newton.

“We are thrilled to announce this important milestone of the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation,” said Robert J. Morrissey, chairman of the board of directors of Belmont Savings Bank as well as the Foundation.

“The mission of the Foundation is to provide financial support to organizations in the communities we serve, particularly those committed towards education, health and human services, youth programs, and affordable housing. We are very pleased with the impact our local partners have as a result of these contributions, including this latest round of giving.”

In addition to the BYBA, the Waltham YMCA and the West Suburban YMCA each received $10,000 for their youth programming, which will enable children and families to attend high quality YMCA programs such as teen leaders club, summer day camp, preschool and licensed after school care, and aquatics.

Additional grant recipients include:

  • African Cultural Services, a Watertown child care program committed to the beauty of African and Haitian culture through dancing, storytelling, and performance, for the purchase of new instruments.
  • Alzheimer’s Association, local chapter, for a 2015 water stop sponsorship at their Walk to End Alzheimers in September.
  • Bais Yaakov, which seeks to provide comprehensive Judaic studies and secular education, for their performing arts program.
  • Belmont High School for their Educational Speaker Series beginning in September.
  • Family Access of Newton received a matching grant for their 2015 Spring Annual Appeal.
  • Friends of Belmont Wrestling received funding for their 2015 scholarship & Brendan Grant Memorial wrestling tournament
  • JDRF received a sponsorship for their Kids Walk to Cure Diabetes.
  • Metro West Collaborative Development for their housing programs.
  • Springwell for their money management program to assist seniors and individuals with disabilities with organizing bills, providing guidance on financial scams, learning budgeting skills, and relieving anxiety over financial matters.
  • Watertown High School Robotics Program to support their team.
  • Women of Means for nursing care at their Waltham Shelter.

“With these contributions, our Foundation continues to ensure community organizations in our footprint will provide high quality services to many of this region’s residents,” said Bob Mahoney, President and CEO of Belmont Savings Bank and an officer on the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation.

“This is a very worthy group of recipients, and it is our pleasure to support them with these grants.”

Belmont’s Pepperidge Farm Outlet Set to Close on June 18

By 1 Comment

Photo: The Pepperidge Farm Outlet Store on Blanchard Road. 

[Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly set the date of the outlet closing on Wednesday, June 11]

The Pepperidge Farm Outlet Store, the thrift store that supplied generation of children with Goldfish crackers and was a guilty pleasure for anyone seeking below-price Milanos, will be closing for the final time on Thursday, June 18. 

“They just told us that they are closing the store a few days ago. And that was it,” said a clerk on Saturday, May 16. 

A Belmontonian message for comment was sent to Camden NJ-based Campbell Soup, which has owned Pepperidge Farm since 1961.

The store located at 87 Blanchard Rd. was known for its discount days – for seniors, teachers and the military – and the overall cost savings in which a wide-selection of breads, snacks, frozen foods, gift packages and cookies and crackers were always on sale. 

Sold in Belmont: Belmont Hill Spec Manse Sells Below List, Assessed Value

By Leave a Comment

Photo: 529 Concord Ave.

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven-plus days in the “Town of Homes.”

• 529 Concord Ave. Blown-out Colonial (2013). Sold: $1,960,000. Listed at $2,250,000. Living area: 4,954 sq.-ft. 12 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 4-full, 2-partial baths. On the market: 113 days.

• 78 Grove St. Townhouse condominium (1986). Sold: $590,000. Listed at $539,000. Living area: 1,452 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 57 days.

The big Colonial off Concord Avenue has everything you’d want in a mansion – new construction, volumes of interior space (about 5,000 square feet), a great kitchen (with the exception of Granite countertops), red oak hardwood floors, nicely-designed bathrooms, fine landscaped grounds and, wow, what a view of Boston. 

Screen Shot 2015-05-14 at 5.20.42 PM

So why didn’t the new manse on the Hill hit the list price – selling at a quarter of a million dollar discount – and, more telling, couldn’t hold up to the town’s assessed value of $2,467,000? Especially at a time when inventory/supply is still considered low.

One reason could be there’s little to compare this structure to – new construction on previously undeveloped land. The developer likely threw out a number ($2.25 million) to see if it would attract some buyer with the need for lots of space. The construction cost was less than $700,000 so it’s not like its going to be a loss on next year’s tax form.

But who is the market for this Colonial on the Hill? If you could pluck $2 million down on a special space, why not head to the Seaport District of Boston? Or a place in Concord with its better roads? Is it trying to lure wealthy families into town? Many of those buyers won’t abandon communities where they have established roots. Or it could be that not that many people will abide the light beams from hundreds of cars traveling up the hill at night as they make the turn onto upper Concord Avenue?

Only the market knows. 

Franchiser Eyes Dunkin’ Donut Store at Pleasant St. Service Station Site

By 2 Comments

Photo: The location of a new Dunkin’ Donut franchise at the corner of Brighton and Pleasant streets.

A family-run franchise business is looking to swap servicing cars with serving coffee and donuts as it has begun talks to construct a Dunkin’ Donuts store at 350 Pleasant St. on the intersection of Brighton Street.

Nicholas Leo, the business manager of his family’s Dunkin’ Donuts franchise business, said while the Cambridge-based Leo Organization is in “very preliminary talks” with the town and the property owner to build a “first-class” outlet of the coffee and bakery multinational headquartered in Canton, he said that “we could have the store open in six months.” 

Previously, the site was occupied by Pleasant Street Getty. A repair shop is currently at the location. The address is one-block from Route 2. 

If completed, the new store will be the third Dunkin’ Donut franchise in Belmont; the others are on Trapelo Road and on Church Street in Waverley Square, owned by “Duke” Carvallo.

In 2013, a small franchise owner began, but later abandoned, the process of bringing a Dunkin’ Donut store in the small strip mall at 70 Concord St.

“We are working on the design,” said Leo, which will not include a drive through. What residents can expect is “a first-class store with lots of glass, landscaping, and bring the neighborhood a property that is all cleaned up.”

The company runs 13 stores, a dozen in Massachusetts and one in Tampa, Fla. The closest Leo Organization stores to Belmont are at 199 Alewife Brook Parkway in Fresh Pond, Cambridge, and in the Alewife MBTA Station. 

Belmont Studio Cinema Re-Opening May 22; Soup Eatery Tagging Along?

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Studio Cinema in Belmont. 

Belmont’s historic Studio Cinema will be back open for business in two weeks.

“May 22 is when we get to do our magic, again,” said owner James Bramante after the Belmont Board of Selectmen awarded the long-time owner of the 96-year-old cinema a Motion Picture Exhibition License at its meeting, Monday, May 11. 

According to Belmont Town Administrator David Kale, Bramante has resolved all the issues pertaining to fire and building codes the had forced the closure of the nearly century-old building at 376 Trapelo Rd. in mid-January. 

With the license in hand, the one of the few remaining single-screen movie houses in the country is ready to celebrate it “official” opening on Friday, May 29 – with some cosmetic improvements such as new counter tops and video message boards – with, “hopefully,” said Bramante, the summer’s first romantic/comedy, “Aloha” with Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray and Alec Baldwin.

 

In addition to reopening the cinema, Bramante said he is in talks with an old friend who runs Spoodles Soup Factory in Foxboro to take over the store front adjacent to the cinema which was once home of Cafe Burrito. 

“He loves Belmont, the location and wants to expand here,” said Bramante of the lunch-time eatery that specializes in soups and wraps. 

White Knight to the Rescue: Cushing Village Partnering with Cambridge Firm

By 1 Comment

Photo: Cushing Village on the Chinese-language website, Jei Wi. 

After more than 21 months since the town approved its construction, the developer of the multi-use Cushing Village project has apparently found his “White Knight” to help rescue the 167,000 square foot project that has been floundering since 2013. 

In a press release dated April 27, Cushing Village’s developer, Smith Legacy Partners said Cambridge-based Urban Spaces would become its “development partner” in constructing the three-building complex comprising 115 apartments, about 36,000 square feet of retail/commercial space and a garage complex with 230 parking spaces. 

Urban Spaces’ “development expertise will help to ensure that the vision we have for the Cushing Village project becomes a reality,” said Chris Starr, the managing partner of Smith Legacy Partners located in Acton.

Movement on the long-stalled project at the corner of Trapelo Road and Common Street was met with approval from town officials.

“We welcome any news suggesting that the Cushing Village project is progressing,” said Sami Baghdady, chair of the Belmont Board of Selectmen. Baghdady was chair of the Planning Board, which spent nearly 18 months reviewing Starr’s plans for the project before approving the development plans in July 2013. 

Reports have yet to reveal the exact relationship between Starr and Urban Spaces, in terms of an equity stake, or which party has the controlling interest currently or in the future. In Urban Spaces’ past developments, the still young firm – it was founded in 2005 and completed its first major development in 2010 – has a history of continuing to hold onto properties once they are completed. 

“Unlike most developers, who are there to get projects built and move on, we manage all of our own properties,” said Urban Spaces’ Vice President of Operations Jeff Hirsch.

“We’re in it for the long haul,” Hirsch said in an article in the trade journal Construction Now.

The press release announcing the partnership said Urban Spaces “acquires, develops, and manages high-end residential properties in close proximity to urban centers.” 

Town officials are not aware of the partnership arrangement between Starr and Urban Spaces. 

“I am not aware of the nature of Urban Spaces’ participation in the project, but I am sure we will learn more before the developer purchases the Cushing Square parking lot property from the town,” said Baghdady. 

The initial step forward to begin construction of the complex will be the sale of the municipal parking lot adjacent to Trapelo and Williston roads by the town to the partnership for $850,000. That sale will be completed once the new team meets a series of provisions in the development agreement, once of which is identifying the development’s financing. 

The town can expect to receive about $1.5 million in the parking lot sale and fees and permit costs. 

But despite the announcement, nothing has taken place between the partners and the town with no firm date for the beginning of construction, according to Glenn Clancy, the town’s director of Community Development. 

The partnership announcement appears to bring an end to a tumultuous 21 months for Starr – who personally sued each of the Board of Selectmen in 2010 in a dispute over the municipal parking lot – as proclamations to the town of quick start on the project quickly turned into a series of delays and broken promises. 

Stalled by financing

In January 2014, Starr made public statements that construction would begin in the late winter or the early summer with the first stores opening by the spring of 2015. Yet the next time the development team was before town officials was in March 2014 when Starr’s representatives  negotiated with the Board of Selectmen a month-to-month extension to purchase the Trapelo Road  municipal parking lot by paying a $20,000 monthly non-refundable fee.

So far, Smith Legacy has sent nearly a quarter of a million dollars into town coffers. This month, the fee is scheduled to increase to $30,000. 

Discussion within the local business circles indicated that Starr – whose previous development experience has been building a small retail development in his hometown – was finding it difficult finding the necessary development financing to come before the town to purchase the parking lot. 

In addition, Starr had parted ways with his previous development partner, Porter Square’s Oaktree Development before finalizing the building rights with the Planning Board, which many business insiders said only made it more difficult finding a financial backer.

By August 2014, Starr hired Boston Realty Advisors, a commercial deal maker, offering up Cushing Village as a “pre-sale or joint venture development opportunity.”

By the beginning of 2015, the development showed up on the leading real estate website in China, JuWai.com, where it was seeking investors willing to pay up to $8 million to become a financial partner.

While the development stalled, the project lost an opportunity to lease the anchor retail space to a grocery store Starr has longed sought, when Foodie’s Urban Market decided to rent about 30,000 square-feet in the former Macy’s site in Belmont Center. 

It appeared activity was about to occur at the development with the news that the popular laundromat E-Z Duz It at the corner of Horne Road and Common Street was closing on April 30. 

What Urban Spaces brings to the partnership is just about everything needed to start, complete and run the development. The firm, founded by Paul Ognibene (who incidentally is the chair of the Cohasset School Committee), has experience developing Cushing Village-like projects. A recently completed building is a commercial development at 159 First Street in Cambridge’s Kendall Square, totaling 126,000 square feet housing 115 apartments with an underground parking garage and ground floor retail.

Screen Shot 2015-04-29 at 8.51.54 AM

159 First Street, Cambridge, built by Urban Spaces.

Another, currently being planned on the Brighton and Brookline line on Washington Street, would include 130 units on five floors, first-floor retail space with 80 underground parking spaces. In that project, Urban Space acquired a 99-year lease on the property. 

Urban Space is also very active in the property management field and has financed projects it builds such as 7 Cameron Ave. in North Cambridge, and 30 Haven St. in Reading, built in 2012.

Coincidently, Urban Spaces partnered with Oaktree Development in the Reading development. 

“We’re in a big growth stage,” Urban Spaces’ Hirsch said in the Construction Now article.

“We’ve tripled in size in the last year and a half, and our property management business has quadrupled. We have been able to bring in some amazingly talented people with the same core values towards value, quality, and plain old hard work,” he said.

Record Quarter Sends Belmont Savings Stock Soaring to All-Time High

By Leave a Comment

Photo: A branch office of Belmont Savings Bank. 

It was a record-setting quarter for the holding company of Belmont Savings Bank as the Belmont-based state-chartered savings bank saw net income more than double compared to the same first three months in 2014. 

BSB Bancorp reported on Thursday, April 24, net income of $1.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, compared to $680,000, for the quarter ended March 31, 2014.

“We experienced a solid quarter across the bank and are well positioned for further improvement in profitability.” said Robert M. Mahoney, the bank’s resident and CEO. Since coming on board in 2010, Mahoney has lead the bank in tripling its assets under management.

After the report was released, the bank’s stock (BLMT) reached an all-time price high of $20.81. 

And that activity has grown the bank’s balance sheet to where total assets reached $1.47 billion as of March 31, a jump of $43 million (about three percent) in the past three months.

“Reaching $1 billion in deposits was a significant milestone for Belmont Savings. It was achieved through a consistent focus on relationship selling and targeted marketing by our retail, business banking, municipal banking and commercial real estate teams,” said Hal Tovin, the bank’s executive VP and COO.

In the past year, Belmont Savings has the distinction as being the fastest growing Massachusetts bank regarding asset growth without acquiring another financial institution. 

Net loan growth increased by $52 million, or 4.4 percent, in the first three months of 2015.

  • Residential one-to-four family loans, $26 million,
  • Commercial real estate loans, $16 million,
  • Construction loans, $9 million, and 
  • Home equity lines of credit, $3 million.

Long an institution in Belmont, the bank provides financial services to individuals, families, municipalities and businesses through six full-service branch offices located in Belmont, Watertown, Cambridge, Newton and Waltham.