Page 14 - BusinessWest October 28, 2024

The Ludlow Mills project, with its mix of housing, businesses, and the restored, iconic clocktower, continues to progress each year.
“Our East Street corridor is sort of our Main Street, and there are a lot of small businesses there that have a loyal following and are very popular,” Strange said. “So we created a DIF last year so, with any developments made in that district, instead of that addi- tional tax revenue going into the general fund, we can keep it in the district for infrastructure improvements.
As for Ludlow Mills, that remains an ongoing process, one that began two decades ago and ramped up when Westmass Area Devel- opment Corp. acquired the property 13 years ago. The 95 residen- tial units at Mill 8 should be complete next month, complimenting the 75 units in Mill 10
and a series of com-
mercial developments Ludlow
across the complex’s Continued on page 33
“I’m really looking forward to being able to improve the look and the feel, but also the infrastructure of East Street. We’re
also going to be repaving the roads around down State Street, which is where the mills are, then around to East Street,” he added. “Center Street, where the pike exit is, is pretty built out and super busy. There are a lot of businesses there. But the downtown area, I feel like we need to really focus on that, because residents’ quality of life will rise if we can create a more exciting down- town area.”
One of the most recent business open- ings on East Street is BarBurrito, a new restaurant venture from Bill Collins, owner of Center Square Grill in East Longmead- ow. “We were thrilled to see BarBurrito come in,” Strange said. “Bill Collins has established businesses that are popular,
so to have him come invest his money into East Street, I was really excited to see that.
“There are a lot of small businesses on East Street that have a loyal following, but we do have some storefronts that tend to turn over,” Strange added. “So we’re really
hoping to, again, raise the excitement level of the downtown area, beautify it, and have more businesses like BarBurrito come in and build out those storefronts.”
“I remember, before I started here, coming over the bridge to go to Randall’s and looking to the right and seeing the clock tower. It just made you feel like you had arrived someplace.”
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14 OCTOBER 28, 2024 << COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT >>
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