I heard that Not Your Average Joe's may be coming to the area. That would be a great place for it. Or how about an indoor playground with video games for the older kids?

Trader Joe's!

Trader Joes or Whole Foods on one side and Ocean State Job Lots on the other side would be Ideal

Whole Foods would be awesome!! Anyone who agrees, their website has a page for locations requests. Enter 01824!
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/service.php?subject=12#viaemail

I really hope the town keeps it zoned for commercial use and doesn't consider making it a mixed-use zone with the potential for housing development (40B). This is suggested in the master plan. Hopefully we can keep it as a place for the community to shop. Would love to see a pedestrian friendly shopping area. This would be a great complement to the center of town and the bike path. Lots of residents used to enjoy walking down to the old Marshalls...

Revitalize the center!!

I have heard that Walmart is looking at the site. To move their Drum Hill store to

Traders Joe/Whole Foods would be awesome!

We do need shopping on this side of town. I'm all for Whole Foods or Trader Joe's.

Trader Joe's or Whole Foods and a family owned restaurant would be wonderful.

Trader Joe's!

Nordstrom Rack / Chipotle combo

Ooooh Nordstrom Rack...love that idea! Chipotle too. Yum. Yours gets my vote, Mike!

I'm against big box stores like Walmart in that area. You would have grid lock in the Center all the time. I would like to see a mixed use scheme....specialty/boutique, retail and restaurants on ground floors, small apartments/lofts second floors but no more than 2 floors in height (something like all the doctor's offices in Village Square on Fletcher Street) I hope that S &S maintains a small version of their market in place to serve the people in that area who now walk to shop there and do not have their own transportation. I would like to see it become a walkable, interesting and imaginative, and well landscaped oasis instead of a parking lot wilderness of hot top. I would like it to be a "destination" place rather than a place to pick up_______________ you fill in the blank. I would like to keep what indivduality we have left rather than make it look like every other place in the area and make it a place people would want to visit over and over again. If you want to revitalize the center that is the way to do it and not with huge flat-roofed boxes with acrers of parking lot that are available anywhere within a 15 minute drive. I would like to see the charm and warmth of a village atmosphere that could be walkable rather than a drive-thru shop-stop. I would like to see the rejuvination of existing buildings be encouraged such as Fishbones has created out of the old Page building. We have some very special opportunities coming up, I hope we make wise decisions.

The Whole Foods or Trader Joe's suggestions are good. I'd rather not have Walmart.

I've heard that S&S own the site; if so, I'd be surprised if they'd favor a competitor like Whole Foods, Wal Mart or Trader Joes.
How about a good replacement for Skip's, and/or a movie theater?
Would it be a reasonable alternate site for a replacement central fire station?
How about some small manufacturing operation that provided employment; or a Lowe's or Home Depot?
It would also be helpful to link the parking areas between there and the municipal lot behind the Sovereign Bank.
My $0.02, FWIW

Stop and Shop does own the site, so while it may be perfect for a fire station, S&S would have to sell the land back to the town. They could pretty much do whatever they wanted to in terms of businesses as long as it's still properly zoned for whatever S&S wanted to use it for.

I would definitely want a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods...a Babies 'R US/ Toys 'R Us would be convenient as well. A Chipotle would also be a great Take-out alternative for downtown Chelmsford...

Trader Joe's or Whole Foods would be perfect for this site

I live on that street and a Walmart would be horrible. I totally agree with a specialty market like Traders or Whole Foods. We hardly have any restaurants that are family oriented. That would be nice. I really hope CVS makes a NICE CVS with drive-thru. The Firestation would be perfect, but unlikely. I really wonder what it will become

Yeah, there's hardly any supermarkets in chelmsford. It would be great to have yet another one!

Would love to see a nicely landscaped area with an expanded Fishbones or Glenview. Throw in smaller versions of Trader Joes's and a Barnes & Noble and the plaza has a little bit of everything. Would hate to see a chain restaraunt.

Stop & Shop owns the whole parcel bordering on Summer St. and Boston Rd. The piece with the CVS is already in the process of change opening up the whole center of the property. Friendly's is in flux because of their corporate finances. I have no clue as to the status of the bank. I doubt that any grocery store will come. Mixed use would more than likely be the answer. I miss little shops like a children's clothing store and bakery. Stop&Shop will do what ever they think they can get away with to line the corporate pockets. We need to be vigilant as plans are presented to our various boards. No large box stores need apply.

How about a Savers?

One more concern I have is for the senior citizens in the neighborhood who no longer have groceries available within walking distance. I realize CVS has some but the prices are rediculous. We need to remember this is the face of our town as people drive through. We need to keep it attractive as well as providing services we may wish to avail ourselves of. We do need some affordable housing near the bus lines.. Housing of this type along with small shopping and dining establishments would be an agreeable and attractive use of the area.

How about the new Fire Station.

Stop & Shop is not that civic-minded!

How about a Lechmere, Caldor, Zayre, Jordan Marsh, Ames, or Borders?

My vote is for a Trader Joe's! Maureen O'Connor

I would love to see a small grocery store. The Elegant Farmer had a great business for many years and I would welcome a similar store. I would favor small specialty shops that are pedestrian friendly such as a bakery, bagel shop, etc. An additional crosswalk from Summer St to the Stop and Shop plaza would also help. We need to replace the trees, and add some benches and bike racks. The larger stores make sense at the Chelmsford mall, closer to the highway. In the summer, an asphalt plaza is so unappealing. Make it attractive, and the business will follow!

I have to say I agree strongly with comments here by Peggy Dunn and Christine McNamara. I live very near to block of Boston Rd and Summer Street. There are a good number of walkers, traffic issues and safety concerns aplenty. I recently have heard folks talking about the nice atmosphere in Andover regarding "village atmosphere" shops. Maybe that's a direction to explore as the Center is in the midst of a make-over.

To Christine McNamara & Paula McCarron: I love the suggestions both of you have made and the atmosphere you are proposing be created in the S&S plaza.
There is already movement to call the area "Chelmsford Village" as it was known
many years ago. We need to make these suggestions known to the Planning Board so that when S&S comes before them they can make S&S aware of the suggestions and ideas that residents have proposed. There are property owners and developers who are interested in ideas that the residents will support and patronize.....after all, it is good business! You can email the planning board with your ideas.
Why look like every other town in the country when we can be uniquely Chelmsford!
With our beautiful library situated across the street, that plaza attractively landscaped with interesting businesses that people can visit over and over in a people-friendly atmosphere would be a great gate-way down Boston Road into the Center.
Why settle for ho-hum when you can have wonderful?

The last thing we need is Walmart, or any other huge chain, moving in to that spot. Imagine the traffic? It's hard enough now getting over to the library.

I have been researching the ownership of S&S. It is owned by a Dutch company called Ahold, USA. They also own the Giant stores. Their business posts do discuss a lot of history in leasing their properties but I still don't have a sense of the general tendency of this corporation in handling such a property as they will have available to them after they abandon the current site. I would love a Village type area with mixed use. What a huge international corporation wishes to put there is another kettle of worms. (that's bigger than a can.)

Trader Joe's or Whole Foods !!! Please no Walmart!!!!

Trader Joe's and Whole Foods seems like consensus winners here. Let's hope the people who are making the decisions here these voices!! No Walmart here.

I meant to say that Walmart has a better location where it is now, in my humble opinion. Having a super CVS and those stores would make it a destination for all of the surrounding towns while keeping the village idea intact. The parking lots should be linked from Harringtons to Sovereign Bank.

For Christine McNamarra: No date is set as yet as far as I know for Stop & Shop to present a plan to the Planning Board. I am watching their agenda plus have asked to be alerted so will let people know thru Krista on Patch when it will occur. It is important that people attend the meetings and lelt their views be known. It is S&S's property and they have the right to do whatever they want if it meets all our guidelines, but that doesn't mean we cannot influence their thinking and encourage them to think about including some of these ideas. After all, what smart business man wants to stubbornly invest a lot of money into something people don't want when with a little compromise and adjusting they can build something people want and support and probably make a better profit as a result.

Though I love both, I support Trader Joe's over Whole Foods (more affordable), and definitely support smaller shops that help define a vilage atmosphere. I have loved the additions of Fishbones and the Java Room to town- places that have their own personalities, and are pleasant to go to with quality products. With the bike path in the area, we can expect more traffic for these businesses in the good weather- especially if we provide bike racks. Let's hope that the owners are willing to work with a developer to build what the residents want. Wouldn't we then be more likely to patronize the businesses that come in?

I'd prefer something with less asphalt, more green, takes advantage of the brook, and looks less like a strip mall from the 70's - it's the center of a Town founded nearly 400 years ago!... For stores, Trader Joe's and Not yYour Average Joe's are nice ideas. I would suggest a 24hr pharmacy, but the new CVS seems to solve that!

The Elegant Farmer idea is great! I loved that store! Also, we have to travel to Bedford, Acton or Tyngsboro to get to a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. So this is a great opportunity to put a Trader Joe's in. What I HOPE is that it does not become like the Summer St strip mall. I like the stores there, but the design is old. Lets give it a village look, with bike racks, some benches, etc. The small area in front of DDonuts on 110 is so appealing. They have provided plants, flowers, trees and benches for travelers to sit outdoors and have a snack. Even though it is right on 110 it's a nice-looking area. That cannot be too difficult to do to get away from a sea of asphalt!

I would love a Home Goods store. I hate having to travel to Bedford, Woburn, Nashua for them. We have no where to buy things for the home in town.

It would be prudent for the decision makers at Stop and Shop to listen to what the town residents want: after all they will be depending on us to support their new location and shop there to make it a success.

I don't think S&S would really allow a grocery store to go in there without much clamor. Although, they are actively looking for businesses to lease that space out to. I see it would be tough for them to try to figure out something with that space due to the increased desirability of space in other places, like the plaza in which Target is at in Lowell. A restaurant would be nice, but I wouldn't put one there myself. I think something like a Nordstrom Rack would have to be at a more visible location. I wouldn't be surprised if it would be awhile before something goes in.

Comment Part 1
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I like the "Chelmsford Village" concept with less asphalt and more greens.
Technically, its "Lifestyle Retail" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyle_center_(retail)
Agree with Peggy Dunn: "Why look like every other town in the country when we can be uniquely Chelmsford! " Lets get Chelmsford even higher than #28 on Money magazine ranking of the best places to live in US.
In my opinion, the renovation should have aims to:
1) Save driving time by bringing stores like trader joes, WF, B&N etc. nearby.
2) Make Chelmsford even more desirable to live and work at.
3) Provide a relaxing, fun place for families to spend time.
4) Balance mix of amenities: grocery, bookstore, high end fast food restaurant (like Chipotle, Fuddruckers. No McD, Wendy's or the ilk please).

Comment Part 2
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With those aims in mind, here are my specific suggestions:
1. Make all parking underground.
2. Landscape the entire area with stores set in a village setting with meandering walkways, lawns and area for small performances overground.
3. Stores: B&N with Starbucks inside, Trader Joes/Whole foods, Chipotle, Jamba Juice etc.
4. Do Not open these stores: McD or ilk, Chuckecheese or ilk, Clothing store, Home goods store, any ice-cream shop -- basically avoid any store that is bad for health, is superfluous in the area, or cheapens the Chelmsford experience.
Planners can draw inspiration from some excellent lifestyle center designs in midwest, west coast , north carolina etc. Here are two I have seen in person and liked:
1. The Shops at Friendly Center (Greensboro, North Carolina)
2. The Streets of Woodfield (Schaumburg, IL)