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Date: 3/12/2015
LONGMEADOW – The Planning Board could soon see a renovation or expansion proposal for the Big Y at 802 Williams St.
Planning Board member Walter Gunn said during its March 4 meeting that Big Y could come before the board sometime next year.
Claire D’Amour-Daley, vice president of Corporate Communications at Big Y, told Reminder Publications despite an expansion being “ideal,” the Williams Street location is currently ranked low on a list of stores in need of renovations or expansions.
Other stores in towns and cities such as Wilbraham, East Longmeadow, and the Cooley Street location in Springfield are ranked higher on the list, she added. However, the list is constantly changing and the Williams Street location ranking could change as well.
“Ideally, we would like to expand in Longmeadow,” D’Amour-Daley said. “We don’t know the scope of the project or the costs [at this time].”
She described the approximately 17,000-square-foot Williams Street location as being “a little tired.”
The Williams Street location is ranked low on the list because there are “a lot of unknowns” about what the needs of the store are, she noted.
Big Y’s “wish list” for a potential expansion would include features such as improved spaces for organic and gluten free products as well as chesses, D’Amour-Daley said.
She added that Big Y doesn’t have a “limitless wallet” and priorities are based on which stores have the most need and whether a competitor is located nearby.
“We’re constantly making those decisions on a daily, frankly,” D’Amour-Daley noted.
Many customers often request improved offerings for Big Y’s organic products, take-out meals, seafood, as well as produce and at the stores where these increased offerings are available “customers are loving it,”?she added.
“We can’t carry that variety [in Longmeadow] because we simply don’t have the room,” D’Amour-Daley said.
Big Y constantly evaluates all of its locations to determine “what might be possible,” she added. The supermarket chain also assesses the life span of its utilities, such as freezers, which often need repairs during the summer.
“We’d like to continue to invest at [the Williams Street] site,” D’Amour-Daley said.