From Bradlees to Kohl's

Address: 1 Worcester Road, Framingham, MA, 01701

Original Facility built: Unknown

Construction Stage: Spring 2002? to Fall 2002

New Facility opening: October 10, 2002

Known stores in former: Bradlees, MetroWest Bank, BankNorth ATM

Current stores: Kohl's

Mall (Store) website: http://www.kohls.com

News stories: None

Bradlees opened at Shopper's World in the early 1960's, and was located in an outlot located to the west of the mall structure. The Bradlees' facility included the store, which was a regional version of Wal-Mart, and a small snack bar. Judging from the interior of the store, it appeared to be renovated sometime during the 1980s. It was to be exempt of Melvin Simon's proposed reconstruction of Shopper's World during the late 1980s, and when the facility was eventually demolished and rebuilt as a power center during the mid-1990s, the Bradlees was ignored. Nevertheless, it typically claimed to be a part of the power center in marketing information and promotions. Toward the end of the store's life, the place was really falling apart: clueless employees and potholes in the aisles didn't give off a great perception. Also toward the end, part of the store's parking lot was leased out to Massport for extra Logan Express parking. The lot later relocated to the Cloverleaf Mall.

On December 26, 2000, Bradlees management decided to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and close all of the chain's remaining stores, which included Framingham. When Bradlees closed early in 2001, it left the area devoid of a general merchandise big-box store (following the loss of Caldor and Ames) until the opening of Target in October of that year.

Once Bradlees closed in late-winter 2001, legal deliberations began. DDC, which owned Shopper's World; the remains of Bradlees, and Stop and Shop, which for years owned Bradlees but was in charge of liquidating the chain; were all involved in a legal case regarding who owned the store. Finally, the case was settled, and a day later, Kohl's announced that they would open at the Bradlees site. The construction consisted of gutting the building and tearing out the front wall, reconstructing them to match the style seen on Kohl's other recent stores, and then installing a matching facade on the other sides of the building.

While the first Boston area Kohl's stores opened in April 2002, the Framingham store was delayed as a result of the legal battle. The store eventually opened on Thursday, October 10, 2002; the first 450 customers received a beauty kit. Kohl's Danvers store opened on the same day, with the chain's first Providence-area stores opening a week later.

Additionally, there was a small ATM outlot on the property. Originally, this housed MetroWest Bank, but when that bank was acquired by BankNorth of Portland, ME; the building's signage changed appropriately. The ATM closed in either late 2003 or early 2004, and that building currently remains vacant.

My Pictures: Taken May 8, 2004

Media: Photos of Framingham Bradlees, floorplans below.

Related Links: Bradlees at Deadmalls DOT com