By Brian Denitzio
News Editor

National discount clothing chain A.J. Wright has agreed to a deal with the owners of the Fields Corner Shopping Mall and will open a store there, perhaps as early as this fall. Sources with mall owner Fields Station LLC confirmed for the Reporter that A.J. Wright will move into a portion of the space that currently houses the store, Bd's. As part of the deal, Fields Station LLC will also undertake a major renovation of the mall site, which will include aesthetic improvements to the mall's storefronts, parking lot, and the sidewalk fronting Dorchester Avenue.

News that changes would be coming to the oft-maligned Fields Corner Mall was greeted with praise from residents and members of the area's business community.

A.J. Wright operates over 100 stores nationally, and already operates stores in East Boston, Quincy, and Allston to name a few nearby locations. The decision for a national chain to move into the site is indication of the vitality and potential that exists at the Fields Corner Mall, said City Councillor Maureen Feeney.

"I think it's going to be a great anchor for those local businesses that exist, and also a tremendous draw to bring in other businesses that will have the deep pockets that we need to really make sure that this is a vibrant business district," said Feeney.

Feeney praised Mayor Thomas Menino, and the city's Department of Neighborhood Development, who worked in concert with the mall's ownership to develop plans for the mall's rehabilitation.

"There are people who will go to A.J. Wright who have never been to Fields Corner," said Feeney. "This is an opportunity for us to shine."

The planned upgrades to the 240,000-sq.ft. site that sits between Dorchester and Geneva Avenues are estimated to cost upwards of $1.5 million. Mall ownership intends to move swiftly forward with the project, with work beginning as early as this spring and continuing through the summer. Preliminary sketches indicate that the facade of the mall will be completely rehabbed, with new signage and storefronts along the face of the mall facing Park Street. Once completed, the mall will resemble the Supreme Liquor Store in Central Square in Cambridge, another property owned by the Cifrino family, the operators of Fields Station LLC.

Tom Gannon, president of the Fields Corner Civic Group, has been critical of the mall's operations in the past, particularly around maintenance of the facility. He was encouraged to hear that A.J. Wright is coming to the site and about the proposed improvements to the mall itself.

"The improvements that I'm hearing about, that are going to be representative of the mall owned by the Cifrinos in Cambridge will be a welcomed improvement to Fields Corner. But we want to continue to work with the Cifrino family on ways to improve the mall that will improve the delivery of services so that tenants can receive more business from residents of Fields Corner," said Gannon.

A portion of the mall remains the subject of ongoing litigation between the mall's owner and a leaseholder for the mall's western-most parcel, which currently houses Orlando's Food Basket. Americas' Food Basket operated out of the site until December of last year, when the operator of two additional grocery stores, including one in Uphams Corner, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. The leaseholder for the site, Capital Food Corp. of Fields Corner, had 30 days to fill the space according to the terms of its agreement with the mall's owner. Capital Food Corp. filed for bankruptcy in late January, prior to the expiration of the 30-day deadline, and ultimately failed to find a tenant to open in the site within that time period. Whether the lease then reverts back to the mall's owner is the subject of an ongoing legal dispute between Capital Food Corp. and Fields Station LLC.