All updates from the month of October 2005 are listed below.

Natick Mall Expansion and Condo Updates
Written by Justin on October 12, 2005 at 10:56PM

• There have been a few announcements lately regarding the Natick Mall's expansion process.
• Firstly, a few weeks ago, a beam that was to become part of the future Natick Mall Expansion got a bit out of control. The windy conditions of mid-September led to a beam swinging around and eventually hitting a car on Speen Street. OSHA is looking into the incident in order to find out who is to blame.
• In addition to "The Maxx" (see below), another new store is coming to the Natick Mall. White House/Black Market, which has already been announced, will open on October 16th.
• Finally, after much debate, the issue over the Natick Mall Expansion's condos is going to Natick's Town Meeting. The Natick Board of Selectmen last night passed an article that the mall will offer to pay $11.5 million dollars to the town in exchange for approving plans for the mall's condominiums, proposed as Phase II of the mall expansion elsewhere. The wording of the MWDN article are a bit confusing regarding the issue of Affordable Housing under 40B, but I'm certain that the facts will be made clearer elsewhere as time goes on. The link to the MetroWest Daily News story is http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=111493.
  

Cloverleaf Apartments to go to court
Written by Justin on October 12, 2005 at 10:52PM

• The long awaited fight over the apartment complex slated for the Cloverleaf Mall parking lot is going to court. The developer is suing the Town of Natick for the legal fees for the apartment complex. It is estimated by the developers that once the case is settled, the total legal fees will come out to $2.6 million dollars. The MWDN tells all at http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=110730.

TJX is taking it to "The Maxx"
Written by Justin on October 12, 2005 at 10:44PM

• A new store being added to the Natick Mall will be an interesting prototype proposed by a local corporation. Framingham-based TJX has launched a mall spinoff to the T.J. Maxx and Marshall's chains, to be known as "The Maxx". Two "Maxx" stores opened on October 1st, one in Braintree at South Shore Plaza and the other at the Natick Mall. The Maxx is intended to focus on women's accessories and shoes, both of which sell well at standard T.J. Maxx/Marshall's locations, and items will be priced similarly to these locations. The Boston Herald has a story online at http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=104350.
  

Dick's Sporting Goods to open October 16
Written by Justin on October 12, 2005 at 10:40PM

• Dick's Sporting Goods will be opening on October 16th inside of the new store at Sherwood Plaza in Natick. They've been running a series of television advertisements promoting the opening of the Natick store, along with a few other Dick's locations in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, I cannot recall where these stores are located.