Tuesday 12 August 2014

Economy

Framingham's economy is predominantly derived from retail and office complexes. There are scatterings of small manufacturing facilities and commercial services such as plumbing, mechanical and electrical expected to be found in communities of its size. Framingham has three major business districts within the town, The "Golden Triangle," Downtown/South Framingham, and West Framingham. Additionally, there are several smaller business hubs in the villages of Framingham Center, Saxonville, Nobscot, and along the Route 9 corridor.

Golden Triangle

The Golden Triangle was originally a three square mile district on the eastern side of Framingham, bordered by Worcester Rd. (Route 9), Cochituate Rd. (Route 30), and Speen Street in Natick. In 1993, the area began to expand beyond the borders of the triangle with construction of a BJ's Wholesale Club and a Super Stop & Shop just north of Route 30.[49] It now includes the original area plus parts of Old Connecticut Path., Concord St. (Route 126), and Speen St. north of Route 30. Because of the size and complexity of this area, Framingham and Natick cooperatively operate it as a single distinct district with similar zoning. The area is one of the largest shopping districts in New England.

The area was formed with the construction of Shoppers World in 1951. Shoppers' World was a large open air shopping mall, the second in the US and the first east of the Mississippi River.[50] The mall drew many other retail construction projects to the area, including Marshalls (1961, rebuilt as Bed, Bath and Beyond 1997),[51] Caldor (1966, Rebuilt as Wal-Mart in 2002),[52] Bradlees (1960s, rebuilt as Kohl's in 2002),[53] the Route 30 Mall (1970),[54] an AMC Framingham 15, the Framingham Mall (1978, rebuilt 2000),[55] and Lowe's (formerly the Verizon Building, 2006).[56] Complementary developments in Natick include the Natick Mall (1966, rebuilt in 1991, expanded 2007 & renamed Natick Collection),[57] Sherwood Plaza (1960),[58] Cloverleaf Marketplace (1978),[59] and the Home Depot. In 1994, Shoppers' World was demolished and replaced with a strip mall named Shoppers World.[60] There are also seven hotels and two car dealerships located within the Triangle.

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