Arlington Eyes Potential Fine Structure for Landlords with Vacant Storefronts

ARLINGTON, MA — The growing number of vacant storefronts in Arlington has raised red flags amongst town officials, business owners and residents alike; but, to some extent, stakeholders' hands are tied.

"There is limited authority for the town to do all that much given that its private property," Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine told Patch."We are trying to take a facilitative role and provide a reasonable service to landlords to help them fill vacancies."

Arlington Center is now home to over a dozen vacant storefronts, including 315 Broadway which was home to The Madrona Tree until July 31, when the restaurant announced it would be closing due to a dispute with its landlord. In an attempt to correct the issue, the town is examining the possibility of a fine structure which hopes to incentivize landlords to fill open vacancies as soon as possible.

The town is currently working on a framework similar to that in San Francisco, which imposes fees on landlords with vacant storefronts. According to Chapdelaine's description of the potential rules, the town would pinpoint a timeframe in which a vacancy should be filled, and give landlords an opportunity to prove that they have attempted to fill the vacancy. A fine would be imposed if a landlord is unable to prove an attempt to fill the vacancy. Town officials hope to bring the proposed fine structure before town meeting in the fall.

Chapdelaine also added that he has met with two of the three landlords which own a bulk of the vacant storefronts in Arlington Center. He added that James Cohen of Marco Realty was committed to finding new tenants, but didn't want to create unnecessary competition for his previously existing tenants.

He also met with Diane Poulos Harpell of DPH realty, but expressed concerns for how much of a hurry the firm is in to fill the vacancy. Chapdelaine added that he is yet to meet with Patricia Simboli of ACS Development, who was the landlord for The Madrona Tree.

"I would hope that they [property owners] are interested in a vibrant downtown," Chapdelaine said."My overall sense is that they would rather wait for the right tenant at the right rate than have the wrong tenant."

Cohen declined to comment on this story. Poulos Harpell and Simboli did not respond to requests to comment.

Chapdelaine told Patch that officials will host a public forum on the issue in the coming months, and added that the reasons for the vacancies are multi-faceted.

"I think it's a multi-layered issue," he said."There is a national downtrend in small business and we've had some fluctuations in the business cycle. I do think we have some older properties that national retailers won't look at, and we have some landlord and building footprint issues."

Photo: Derby Farm Flowers & Gardens’ new location at 218 Mass. Ave. Credit: John Waller.