All updates from the month of February 2006 are listed below.

Gulf gas station opens on Cochituate Rd.
Written by Justin on February 18, 2006 at 10:13PM

• The vacant Exxon gas station on Cochituate Rd. (Route 30) has reopened. Now selling gasoline under the Gulf brand, the station opened for business on Thursday, February 16. The service center area is not being used at the moment, and the U-Haul business has not returned. It appears that Cumberland Farms, the owner of the station, will eventually go ahead with their original plan to replace the existing station (circa 1978) with new pumps and a Cumberland Farms convenience store. No word yet on that, though.
• As of this writing, gas is going for $2.19/gal.

Nordstrom invades Greater Boston with 3 new stores
Written by Justin on February 18, 2006 at 10:07PM

• On February 17th, Nordstrom announced that three new stores will be constructed in the Boston area; all at malls that will be losing anchors as a result of the Federated/May acquisition. Nordstrom will open a two-floored, 144,000 sq. ft. store at the Burlington Mall in Burlington, on the site of the current Filene's, in 2008. Then, a three-floored, 150,000 sq. ft. store will open at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree, on the site of the current Macy's, in 2009. Lastly, Nordstrom will open another two-floored, 144,000 sq. ft. store at the Northshore Mall in Peabody, on the site of the current Macy's, in 2010. These are in addition to the 144,000 sq. ft. store currently under construction as part of the Natick Mall expansion, which will still be able to lay claim as the first Nordstrom in Massachusetts.
  
• The three new Nordstroms, all at Simon Malls, will take up some of the better store locations that are up for grabs. The malls impacted are also said to be undergoing subtle renovations to make way for the new stores. With the vacant stores in affluent areas now taken, could Bon-Ton or another chain be making a bid for some of the less attractive locations? We'll have to wait and see.
• The Boston Globe reports on the Nordstrom invasion at http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/02/17/nordstrom_makes_it_official/.
  

Gas line forces evacuation of the Natick Mall
Written by Justin on February 18, 2006 at 9:31PM

• Several weeks ago, a construction crew mistakenly hit a gas line while working on the Natick Mall expansion on February 8th around 8:45am. The mistake forced gas into the existing Natick Mall's HVAC system, forcing the facility to evacuate employees and walking seniors while the situation was resolved. Flutie Pass was closed for a while, but fire crews were able to ventilate the mall and stores opened only a few minutes after the 10:00am scheduled opening.
• The Milford Daily News has a story at http://www.milforddailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=86031, and WCVB-TV (channel 5) reports at http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/6837470/detail.html.
  

A plethora of Natick Mall news
Written by Justin on February 2, 2006 at 9:08PM

• Where shall we start?
• First, the Framingham Planning Board met with the Natick Mall's planners who have been developing the new condo towers. To say that the board was satisfied would be a great overstatement. Jay Grande, the Planning Board administrator, was unsatisfied with GGP's design, calling it too bland. Carol Spack also agreed that the design of the buildings was far too lacking. Sue Bernstein was concerned with traffic, and believes that the condos will destroy both the intersection of Speen St. and Cochituate Rd. and the Mass Pike interchange. Chairman John Grande was concerned with public transportation's impact, and Ann Welles was concerned by environmental impact. More can be read at the MWDN article, online at http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=120356.
• The liquidation sale at Filene's has begun, and shoppers were full of memories about the New England icon that is finally coming to a close. Local coverage by the MWDN can be found at http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=120595. Another story is online at http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=120473.
  
• 328 layoffs have been announced for the Natick Mall's Macy's, which will close. Yet Federated representatives are saying otherwise. The MWDN has more on this at http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=120066.
• The Boston Globe did a feature story about the new condos being built at the Natick Mall. The story is online at http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2006/01/22/if_you_shopped_here_youd_be_home_by_now/.
• And lastly, it seems that even more changes are en route to the Natick Mal property. Renovations to the existing Natick Mall are in the works as well, at least according to a news bit from the Globe. It's online at http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/01/22/officials_foresee_mall_reopening_in_fall/.