Looking Back to 2004: The Galleria Mall is sold

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This year, the Worcester Business Journal marks its 25th anniversary. In each print edition, we will highlight a major event that took place within the Central Massachusetts business community between 1990 and 2014 and how that event impacts today's business scene.

Later this year, on Oct. 13, we will publish a special 25th Anniversary commemorative edition in which we will look at the companies and business leaders who made a difference in the region, and we'll look ahead to what the coming years could bring.

EVENT: The Galleria Mall — later to become the Worcester Common Fashion Outlets — is sold for about $30.4 million.

RECAP: Ten years after the 32-year-old downtown Worcester retail site was re-launched as the fashion outlets, the site was all but vacant. Under pressure from Mayor Timothy Murray, the property's owners, Cigna Investments, sold the 22-acre site to Berkeley Investments of Boston.

FAST FORWARD: The sale opened the door for the mixed-use CitySquare development. The mall itself was demolished, and in 2012, the city extended Front Street, creating a seamless connection between downtown and Shrewsbury Street, essentially connecting the east and west ends of Worcester. Unum Group and Saint Vincent Hospital's Cancer and Wellness Center now stand at either end of what remains of the mall's parking garage. Plans for a 4-star hotel are moving forward and may well lead to a proposal to build 350 units of market-rate housing and 15,000 square feet of retail space.

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