Pittsfield plaza area growing full steam

PITTSFIELD – A year ago, the owner of Somerset Plaza, located just off Interstate 95, was optimistic about development at his site. Thomas Auger of Apple Mountain LLC had just sold a parcel of land to the Sebasticook Valley Federal Credit Union for corporate headquarters and an expanded branch and was negotiating with two other new plaza tenants.

Auger said this week, however, that both of the possibilities fell through, but he added he is pleased the credit union project likely will break ground this spring.

Meanwhile, other development in the plaza neighborhood is proceeding full-steam ahead. A major reconstruction at Varney Chevrolet is under way, with a large showroom and repair shop replacing the antique barn and additions that burned last year in a major fire.

Next to the plaza, the Pittsfield Motor Inn is undergoing renovations, according to manager Richard Leahy. New owners Zuber and Bilkish Malek of Massachusetts have completely redone the motel lobby, adding granite floors, and have installed new emergency lighting and smoke detectors in all the rooms.

The former Ponderosa Room, a bar at the motel, has been closed, but the couple is looking to lease the space “to the right business,” such as another pub or restaurant, Leahy said.

Auger said Friday that last March he was negotiating with a Dunkin’ Donuts franchiser to locate a drive-through on the west end of the plaza, adjacent to the parking lot’s park-and-ride area. An Augusta telemarketer also had promised tenancy in the largest space in the center of the plaza, empty since the departure of ICT, also a telemarketing firm.

Auger, however, said he is not quite so optimistic today. The telemarketing firm pulled out of the deal at the last moment even though the business had paid for an option on the space and Auger did $13,000 worth of renovations to appease it.

“They left me high and dry,” he said.

The Dunkin’ Donuts franchiser is waiting until another franchise he purchased in another town is up and running.

Auger said he also has had difficulty with an existing tenant, Family Dollar, which had been asked to move to a different location in the plaza to allow Bud’s Shop ‘n Save, a Hannaford store, to expand.

“Bud’s is so cramped and really needs the space,” Auger said. “But Family Dollar refused to move over.”

Auger said he is very pleased, however, with the new credit union project, which will have a separate driveway directly into the plaza.

“That will draw a lot of new people to the plaza,” he said.

He said he recently replaced the plaza’s roof and heating and ventilation system.

“These are changes that no one sees,” he said. He plans to replace the plaza’s facade and construct a new metal roof over the exterior walkway.

“I am confident,” he said, that continued improvements will draw more development to the area.