New Owner For Corbin Plaza
When Marlborough officials recently auctioned off Corbin Plaza for back taxes at 110-118 Pleasant St., it was with an eye to keep the momentum of improvements in the French Hill neighborhood going.
The blue collar neighborhood along Lincoln and Pleasant streets, which previously had manufacturing plants, has been plagued with crime and spotty property upkeep by some absentee landlords.
In the last few years , improvements like the year-old Christopher Heights assisted living center at 84 Chestnut St. and the Renaissance Lofts at 406 Lincoln St. have gone a ways toward improving how the neighborhood looks and the quality-of-life there, according to city officials.
Highest Bidder
Corbin Plaza, a 24,000 square foot, four-story building, most recently housed a drug addiction agency and community policing unit, but all tenants were asked to leave before it was sold.
The successful bidder, North Andover cardiologist Dr. Sudarshan Chattergee, paid $310,000, according to Tom Abel, Marlborough’s treasurer and controller. The new owner has said publicly that his wife wants to locate a day spa there and the rest of the space may be offices for doctors and other professionals.
Chattergee could not be reached for comment. The property changed hands on Jan. 15.
“It will be a good influence on the neighborhood,” said Steve Reid, the city’s building inspector and acting planning director, about the new owner’s plans for the building. “The most logical thing would be professional offices. The city tried to give the buyer a lot of flexibility.”
Apparently the increased medical office space comes at an opportune time for the city. “The city of Marlborough has seen tremendous demand for expanding medical offices in the last year,” Reid said. University of Massachusetts-affiliated offices as well as the Boston hospitals have all looked to expand in the city, he said, and the demand continues.
The city’s bid package made it clear that it would prefer a small supermarket and professional offices, Reid said.
The former owner, Richard Bland, owed $335,000 in back taxes, as well as fines and interest of $455,000, bringing the total bill to almost $800,000.
“He had had tax liens for about 10 years and had signed several agreements over the years to pay the money, but they just didn’t work out,” Abel said.
“I’m pretty excited about it, I live on the street right behind it,” said Eric Asman, president of the French Hill Neighborhood Association.
“We understand it’s going to have a salon and spa as well as medical offices. “What they do with the building is important... But it’s also important how it looks. Right now it has nasty green siding and we hope that changes.”
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