Is it too early to worry about a mall? Downtown business owners get ready for the possibility
Can downtown retail survive in Andover if Main Street is flanked by shopping centers in North Andover and Tewksbury?
With new retail development under construction along nearby Route 114 in North Andover and talks of a shopping center coming to Tewksbury as part of an Interstate 93 interchange project, some business owners are getting worried.
Though no stores would open for a number years along I-93 if a new exit were built in Lowell Junction, Andover Business Center Association President Betsy Powers thinks the competition is heating up.
“I’m nervous,” said Powers, the owner of Culinary Concepts on Park Street. “I think the next five years are going to be critical.”
Powers wants store owners to work together and help position Andover as a go-to destination like downtown Newburyport or Portsmouth, N.H.
“We need to do something to make ourselves different. I think we could survive (nearby development) if we make ourselves unique,” Powers said.
