You Ask...Patch Answers: Empty Storefronts

We’re all a little curious.

Driving through town one morning, you may wonder if that vacant building you pass will ever be occupied, why there’s no stoplight at a certain busy intersection, how long it takes to complete a road project or one of a million other questions about your town.

That’s where Patch comes in. With our new feature, “You Ask ... Patch Answers,” we will strive to find the answer to all your questions—big, small and in-between—about the town we live and work in. Whether it’s something you’ve always wondered about, some information you just can’t put your hands on or a sudden curiosity, we want to hear it.

Send your queries to Jennifer.Lucarelli@patch.com or leave them in the comments section below, and I will do my best to dig up an answer for you. You also can call me at 508-330-7763.

This week, I thought we'd start off the questions with a reader who emailed me last week asking about what is going on with all the empty buildings in town.

To start off, here's a quick list:

1. The former location is at the corner of Maple Avenue and Route 9
2. The empty building is located at the corner of Route 9 and Lake Street.
3. This location in White City closed earlier this year.
4. Just last week, the pizza place in White City on Route 9 closed its doors.
5. Excavation was started and stopped and now is stalled due to lack of funding. It is located on Main Street near I-290.
6. Michael's: It moved to the new plaza in Northborough leaving another store vacant in White City.
7. will close its processing facility on Main Street near I-290 and North Quinsigamond Avenue by the end of the year.

When asking town officials, there has been no recent nibbles on any of the above properties as of yet.

had taken a liquor license out last year, but never moved into the former Borders' location.

The recently evicted owner of White City Pizza said he had heard the former Michael's location would be renovated to accommodate medical offices.

As for the other locations, there are little or no answers. What do you think the town should do to attract businesses? Is this just a sign of the down economy? Is it finally reaching our area?

As other businesses struggle, more storefronts may remain empty and our taxes will be on the rise as the town's tax revenue cannot be offset by these empty storefronts.