Demoulas ready to expand

The Demoulas Family, owners of the Mystic Mall, are moving ahead quickly on plans to further develop the site.

According to City Manager Jay Ash, the Demoulas Family is ahead of schedule on presenting ideas for the future of the mall, as was evidenced during a meeting earlier this week of the Mystic Mall Development Team, headed by the Demoulas, the Planning Board and the Traffic Commission as well as City Manager Ash and Councillor Calvin Brown.

At that meeting, the Demoulas thought out loud about what they believe will take place over the next few years at the mall as well as dealing with more immediate plans they will be presenting to the city for the partial demolition of the former site of the Market Basket that remains empty.

However, it appears it may soon be the site for an AJ Wright retail store as well as a number of food and retail outlets, if the city allows it.

The family will be presenting their plans to the city at the end of May, said City Manager Ash.

In the years to come, the family seems to be leaning toward a more vigorous expansion of the site to include office buildings and or residential housing in an appropriate mix.

This would also include retail space on the ground floor of the buildings.

It could be a potent mix.

Perhaps the most interesting of the ideas being tossed around is the relocation of the railroad stop from its present location just off the downtown to the Demoulas site – with parking being made available so as to entice residential housing.

More housing would be a real possibility, say planners, if the railroad stop into Boston is located in the area of the mall.

Much of this development think tanking, according to Ash, has gone on at the highest levels with the Demoulas Family.

“They are doing much more than simply thinking about the future,” said Ash.

The newly opened flagship of the family’s mighty grocery chain continues to break all records for business and income.

It continues to attract huge throngs of shoppers from all over, as well as local shoppers from Chelsea, East Boston, Everett and Revere.

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