Home Care In Leicester, MA

A mostly undeveloped stretch of 117 acres off Route 56 in Leicester has the capacity for 1.5 million square feet of commercial and industrial development. But first the town needs help in figuring out what the largely wooded site would best be used for.

A small state grant announced Tuesday of $50,000 will help town officials with a marketing study to determine Millbrook Industrial Park's market potential. The stretch of land along Route 56 in the southern part of town between Clark and Stafford streets is almost entirely undeveloped, with a vacant warehouse spanning 175,000 square feet the only building there.

Leicester was included as one of 10 cities and towns across the state sharing a total of more than $3 million in site readiness funds from the state agency MassDevelopment, which help municipalities plan for potential new use for what are often challenging sites. Leicester's grant was the smallest amount given, but Millbrook Industrial Park's potential could dramatically change what's now a quiet stretch of roadway in a rural town.

Today, only seven acres of the site's 117 acres is developed, including the warehouse, which previously hosted UNFI Specialty Distribution Services. The building has been proposed as a cannabis cultivation center called CannAssist, whose application to the state's Cannabis Control Commission has been given provisional approval.

The much of the development site, which is zoned for industrial use, is owned by ASR Realty Company LLC, which is registered to Robert Sigel of Mashpee. Sigel said his firm isn't involved in the town's planning process but is marketing some of the parcels for availability and is looking to develop as a partner a second cannabis cultivation operation in one part of the site.

Leicester is one of many Massachusetts cities and towns that have set up certain areas of town where cannabis firms can and can't operate.

The town is eager to see potential development there, particularly for new jobs and tax revenue, after previous attempts fizzled out, including a 130,000-square-foot building permitted in 2009 but never built. Town master planning discussions in 2009 identified the Millbrook Industrial Park area as a site where the town preferred to see new industrial or office uses.

"While the site has been marketed for the last several years, the market has not responded, and there has been no development interest in the parcels," the town said in its funding application to MassDevelopment. "The town is unsure why new development opportunity has not materialized, and the town seeks MassDevelopment's pre-development support to help us to evaluate the development opportunity and identify and implement pre-development strategies that will make this site more attractive to end users."

Retail outlet likely to open after Labor Day

THE STATE’S CANNABIS Control Commission on Monday awarded its first license for a retail recreational pot store to a medical marijuana facility in Leicester, where sales will probably start sometime in September.

The board unanimously approved the provisional license for Cultivate Holdings to add retail pot to the medical marijuana the company sells at the firm’s Main Street store in the small town bordering Worcester on the west. The license is provisional until Cultivate meets a few more conditions, such as fingerprinting employees and passing state-mandated inspections.

“We’re very excited to be the first,” Sam Barber, president of Cultivate, said immediately after the meeting. “We have everything at our facility. In terms of having the ability to do it, we’re ready to go.”

Barber said Massachusetts will benefit from the addition of new jobs and tax revenues. Under the law, the state will collect a 10.75 percent tax on retail sales (plus 6.25 percent sales tax), and communities can levy up to a 3 percent local option tax. In addition, host communities can get up to 3 percent of a store, grower’s, or manufacturer’s gross revenues to cover expenses incurred by the community in dealing with the new businesses.

Pressed by reporters, Barber initially said he expected to be selling marijuana to his first retail customer “in the next few weeks.” But later, in a quieter moment after the media scrum disappeared, Barber acknowledged it would likely be September before he would be able to open the retail side of his business because of the lack of product and the need for independent labs to set up and begin doing testing mandated by state law. Cultivate also has license applications pending for manufacturing and cultivation facilities in Massachusetts.

Commission Chairman Steven Hoffman said he was hopeful Cultivate could move quickly but said it is now on the company, not the commission, to make it happen.

“I think the timetable is at his control,” Hoffman told reporters. “He has to get back to us and tell us he’s met the conditions of the provisional licenses and then we’ll do the inspections immediately.”

In addition to the retail license, the board also awarded on Monday its first marijuana transportation and manufacturing licenses to Sira Naturals of Milford. Sira last week received the first license of any kind when the commission granted the firm a provisional license to grow recreational marijuana at its medical cultivation facility.

“Every day is a milestone,” Hoffman said of the commission’s recent actions. “I think it’s a big day but it’s one of many big days.”

Cultivate’s license was granted one day after many thought retail stores already would be open and selling pot. When the Legislature revamped the voter-approved law legalizing recreational marijuana, it set the timetable back for everything by six months. But while the first day of sales could not begin before July 1, it did not mean sales must begin on that day.

Hoffman said the board has been consistent in not targeting a date despite the public perception pot sales would begin on Sunday.

“We are doing this right, we are doing this for the long term,” Hoffman said. “There is no legislative mandate for pot stores to open on July 1.”

Barber said he is not frustrated with the pace of the law’s implementation, saying it’s essential to get it right, not get it done fast.

“I’d rather have the program done in the right way,” he said. “This is one of the most rigorous states to get through the process but I think they’re doing it the right way.”

LEICESTER, Mass. - Five historic buildings in Leicester, once part of the Becker College campus, are now under new ownership. Since the college closed in 2021, the town had taken control of the properties along Main Street, but decided to auction them off on Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

The buildings were used as dormitories, and Town Administrator David Genereaux said they served Becker College for more than 100 years in that capacity.

"But to us, they're surplus," Genereaux said. "So what we're looking to do here today is sell them to new owners to have them breathe new life into them, and get them back on the tax rolls as productive properties for the town."

The five buildings auctioned off at Leicester Town Hall on Wednesday afternoon included Russell Hall, Winslow Hall, Lane Hall, Hitchcock Hall and a building known as the "1812 House."

Inside, you’ll find memoirs of these buildings’ former lives - a former campus security employee's ID badge above a fireplace, a sticker for the school's veterinary club on a door or bathrooms with multiple sinks and toilets.

Genereaux said a public auction felt like the best way to handle the situation as openly and transparently as possible.

Paul Zekos, president of Zekos Group Auctioneers, said the buildings will be a labor of love, but the right owner will be able to transform the properties into something special.

“One is zoned commercial and gives us a tremendous amount of flexibility for business purposes," Zekos said. "And that is right at the base of the new Leicester High School. So, hopefully someone will add a little bit of creativity and economic development, particularly on that building. Additionally, there are four other buildings that can be used as single family homes or two-family homes."

For those who have enjoyed the historic look of the buildings along the Leicester Common, rest assured, the charm won’t be going anywhere under new ownership.

"We do have a historic district regulation in place," Genereaux said. "So if they want to make any changes to the outside of the buildings, they have to go before the commission to explain what they're going to do to essentially get permission. You know, in a perfect world, we'd like people to restore them back to what they were so they can be enjoyed and they can be part of the downtown area.”

LEICESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - A 12-year-old was recently in the right place at the right time, jumping to help her twin brother when he started choking while at school in Leicester.

The sister said it was intuition that told her what to do.

Both siblings opened up this week, telling 7NEWS about the scary situation.

“I don’t know what I could do to repay her,” said Charlie Loverme.

The incident happened inside Leicester Middle School last Friday. Charlie said he was chewing on cheese when the food got stuck in his throat.

“So, I got up and I started signaling that I was choking,” he said.

Cafeteria cameras captured video of Charlie, 12, stumbling toward his sister, who was sitting at a different table. Charlie’s sister, Amelia, immediately reacted.

“I knew that I needed to help him and he clearly couldn’t breathe,” Amelia said. “I wrapped my hands around his waist and started squeezing him.”

Amelia said her father taught her the Heimlich maneuver when she was younger.

“Like most parents, you just think they tune it out, maybe they’ll recall it if they need it, or they’re half listening,” the father, Jason, said after this incident. “But clearly she had it in her brain and she recalled it and acted and helped Charlie as fast as she could.”

The actions turned Amelia into a school hero, earning praise from Leicester Middle School Principal Doug Daponde.

“I’m getting emotional now just thinking of it,” Daponde said. “There’s a lot of adults that would freeze and not know what to do, but for a middle school student to do what she did — quite amazing.”

Charlie describes his twin, who is older by 45 minutes, as “bossy.” After this situation, though, he said he is thankful she took charge.

“Anytime he’s trying to steal the front seat or something, I’ll say ‘I saved your life, do you remember that?’” Amelia said.

Charlie was checked out by the school nurse after his choking scare. He was unharmed and was playing sports later the same day.

(Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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LEICESTER - Briana Azier of Leicester says her successful shop, Bri's Sweet Treats, "was born and raised out of the ashes of the pandemic."

It's funny the turns that life will take you on and they turn out to be worthwhile.

"Literally my son and I just looked around during a time of sadness and tragedy and we wanted to spread happiness," Azier told WBZ-TV.

Azier was in the business sector but during the pandemic she started making candy. This was a new venture.

"We started giving them away in gift boxes to friends and family and neighbors. It did exactly what we thought it was going to do. It spread happiness," she said.

That one act of kindness snowballed into Bri's Sweet Treats. Her sweet shop has earned some high accolades.

"Bri's Sweet Treats is currently the number one chocolate and candy store in Worcester for the second year in a row. I'm the Worcester Business Journal 'Best New Business' for 2023," she told WBZ.

And if you want to know what piece of candy she's known for, it's her giant peanut butter cup.

"Each one of my peanut butter cups weighs almost one quarter pound," she said.

Azier worked on this peanut butter to chocolate mixture for a full year.

"Changing the peanut butter concoction and the ingredients until I came to the perfection that you see here, that is sold throughout stores in central Mass," she said.

"It's the best job in the entire world. It literally is. I'm with my family, my husband and I (and) my son. Amanda, my (assistant), has quickly become like family. It's just great!"

For more information, visit their website.

Levan Reid

Levan Reid is a reporter for WBZ This Morning. He is also a veteran sports reporter for WBZ-TV.

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