Renewed interest in the problem of providing increased facilities for automobile parking in the Norwood business district was the result of an informative talk presented Tuesday evening at Holman Hall at the opening meeting of the Chamber of Commerce by George P. Brown, representative of the firm known as National Suburban Centers, which is engaged in the development of modernistic regional shopping centers.
Brown, who emphasized that his appearance here was not to be interpreted as a move to stir interest in such a project for Norwood traced step by step the procedure that his company follows in setting up automobile shopping centers such as are being established al Beverly and Framingham.
Catering to shoppers from a wide area, the new centers stress accessibility, parking space, compactness, and convenience. The parking areas, he stated, are so designed that there will be no more than a 200-foot walk from the farthest parked car to an entrance. Three square feet of parking space are provided for each square foot of store space, and the same ratio is preserved if stores are added to the original plan, he said.
Approximately 200 acres are needed for a center. Brown explained. Eight acres are used for buildings, about 45 for parking, and the remainder of the land, all of which is owned by the company, is leased or sold for potential residential use only.
Using the Framingham plan as an example, the speaker said that the center is designed for two-story shopping, using ramps instead of stairways. There, the Jordan Marsh Co. of Boston, whose agreement to go into several such centers rather than just one at Beverly prompted the rapid expansion of National Suburban Centers, has 125,000 square feet of space reserved in a circular building at one end of the center. There will be from 60 to 70 stores, with a maximum of glass, and there will be no danger from traffic once inside the area. All walks will be covered, making it possible for a shopper to go to any point without going into the open. A theatre will seat 1500 persons. A big feature for mothers will be a nursery where children may be left under supervision for a nominal hourly fee.
The center will have its own police and Fire departments, as well as its own snow removal crew. Brown said, which means that a minimum of service from the municipality will be required. From 1000 to 1500 people will be employed.
Brown disclosed that more than 70 percent of the store space has already been leased for a minimum period of 20 years at Beverly and Framingham. In addition to the fixed charge, he said, there will be a percentage arrangement on gross business, with much of these funds being used for operating expenses and maintenance as well as for cooperative advertising.
Besides Framingham and Beverly. where 40 to 50 stores will be provided centers are also being planned for three other locations in Eastern Massachusetts, three in New Jersey and three in New York.
The Framingham project, he said, is to be built at a cost of from 6 to 7 million dollars, while Beverly will cost about 5 million. Financing is done on long-term loans from insurance companies.
Brown stated that his company has not looked into the situation in the Norwood area too deeply.
The speaker was Introduced by Ambrose J. Kelly, chairman of the Chamber’s Town Affairs Committee. which had charge of the program for the opening night.
(All articles originally published in the Norwood Messenger)