There’s no shortage of foot traffic in Codman Square’s business district, but destinations have dwindled for shoppers as commercial vacancies have accelerated at a pace that has community stakeholders concerned.
The former Caribe restaurant closed in this space at 559 Washington, with a taqueria announced for the space in 2023 that never materialized. Neighbors complain the space attracts loiterers and public drinking.
The former Walgreen’s Pharmacy at 585 Washington St. closed for good on Sept. 10, leaving a large anchor store site vacant. Building owners didn’t return calls for comment on what might be next.
A stroll along Washington Street recently revealed at least 12 vacant storefronts, some of them boarded up and strafed with graffiti. The hollowed-out businesses include large spaces like the Citizens Bank building that has been empty since the branch closed two years ago and small storefronts like a former take-out restaurant that’s now attracting only loiterers.
Earlier in the year, the sudden closure of the Daily Table grocery was a tough hit that was followed by the summertime shuttering of Walgreen’s Pharmacy. Most recently, two longtime retailers – Jordy’s Men’s Store and Northside Shoe – closed their doors as well.
The rapid decline in welcoming storefronts has remaining merchants and residents worried as they see other business districts — such as Greater Ashmont, Bowdoin-Geneva, and Fields Corner— doing far better.
“It’s not an appealing area to do business in right now,” said Dr. Shalair Armstrong, who operates Codman Square Chiropractic on Washington Street. A lack of parking is a contributing factor, Armstrong noted. Another is the dearth of destination businesses in the evening hours.
“This community dies after the changeover at 5 p.m. It’s really dangerous with dealing drugs, loitering, and prostitution,” she said. “Plus, a lot of business owners here don’t live in the community, so they don’t care to have anything more here. They just take their money and run home.”
The former Citizens Bank building has been vacant for more than two years. Rumors have circulated that a Mattapan restaurant has been looking at the space for a sit-down and function hall, but nothing concrete has been made public. Seth Daniel photos
Leaders from the Codman Square Neighborhood Council (CSNC) are also deeply concerned. The council works to drive positive activity in Codman Square year-round. One example is the Farmer’s Market, which serves as an incubator for growing businesses looking for a location, like the House of Sevens Café run by Dorchester native Tamicka Brown.
“We need to talk with our commercial landlords about small businesses and our commercial tenants and our vision for Codman Square,” said Cynthia Loesch-Johnson, the president of CSNC. “We have our vision and know what we want to see. We want to spend all our money here and not leave our neighborhood… but because we’re dealing with so many vacancies, we can’t do that.”
Dr. Guy Fish, CEO of the Codman Square Health Center (CSHC), an anchor institution in the Square, said the growing number of vacancies “should have folks concerned.” He spoke about possibilities. “The story has got to be about the ‘can be,’” he said. “There’s this opportunity to convene the stakeholders now with the right leadership and community and vision to attract investment dollars…It’s a moment where we have to ask ourselves if we will convene the right bodies and get them to energize people.”
One catalyst could come from the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation (CSNDC), which recently filed a proposal to replace its existing office space on Washington Street with a five-story, mixed-use building that would include housing above its ground-level offices. They also own commercial spaces with tenants like the fast-food eatery McDonald’s at Washington and Talbot near the Great Hall.
Marcia Thornhill, vice president of operations for the NDC, agrees that the rash of new vacancies is “a tough situation. We see it and we are concerned about it,” she told The Reporter.
“Beautification can really make a big difference,” she noted. “People might want to patronize the district but keep going to the next location that feels more welcoming. Right now, it doesn’t feel that welcoming. We try to do our part but others around us need to step up and do their part.”
Longtime CSNDC director Gail Latimore, who is retiring this fall after 30 years, added: “One thing I am concerned about is how fast it happened. The pace of the change, but also the potential for new developers coming in that might not be dedicated to our community’s stability the way we are.”
Older Buildings, Few Upgrades
A common experience for many of Dorchester’s older business districts is spaces that don’t measure up to modern standards – inadequate electricity and HVAC systems, for example. That’s often the case in Codman Square, with some tenants describing poor conditions despite high rents.
Shalair Armstrong said many landlords don’t want to upgrade, as they own the properties outright and only want to collect rent without any fuss.
“Anything that goes wrong here, I have to pay for it,” she said. “If a window gets broken, I have to fix it. Most of the owners won’t sell to anyone with a business because there’s value in the property and they won’t upgrade anything, either. They just want to leave it.”
She said that her office lacks adequate heat and air conditioning so she resorts to expensive space heaters in the winter. “You come to accept it; there are just a wealth of folks not caring about the area and letting it go,” she said.
Naldo Cardoso, a small business specialist with CSNDC, said he does a lot of outreach to the business community, and he has found that many don’t even have leases.
“Some businesses have landlords that bought in the Square a long time ago and don’t have spaces up to code,” Cardoso said. “Most of the businesses don’t have a signed lease and that’s a concern of ours, given that commercial is much different than residential…
“There is a high number of businesses in Codman Square that are immigrant-owned and that makes it easier for folks not to do leases. They often don’t see the connection between formalizing things and protecting themselves.”
Rev. Victor Price of the Second Church of Dorchester said that some property owners try to “hold out” for commitments from national chains.
“They’ll lease to Popeye’s for 10 years and have that security, but it comes at a cost to our aspiring entrepreneurs ,who don’t have a space for 10 years to build their business,” said Price.
“We’re depriving ourselves of opportunity while owners enjoy a 10-year lease or leave properties empty while waiting for a long-term lessee to come,” he said. “We will be forever employees and not employers, lessees and not owners.”
Added Dr. Fish of the health center: “I think there’s no lack of people having ideas of what they’d like to do in the community. I look at the House of Sevens Café. Can’t we get her into a brick and mortar? There needs to be that local group to validate and financially support her vision…It would be wonderful at the health center to have places where we could go and grab lunch or afternoon coffee.”
A Need Noted: Leaders Who Can Organize
The Codman Square community has historically been well organized, with civic groups and institutions that carry weight with decision-makers. That spirit was visible with last month’s opening of the renovated Codman Park, as well as the ongoing reconstruction of the historic 1800s Second Church in Dorchester.
But several people interviewed for this story noted a missing element for the Square’s business owners and operators.
A merchant’s association that once existed is gone. The Boston Main Streets organization, which opened a district in Codman Square in the 1990s, has been defunct for more than a decade.
“One problem is we don’t have a Main Streets program here anymore,” said Dr. Armstrong.
The CSNDC says it attempts to organize and program events for small businesses but agrees more can be done. “We would love to see something more substantial that can benefit these businesses as an official entity or quasi-entity that is recognized by the city,” said Latimore.
“We need one or two great business leaders here,” she said, “who are able to organize and don’t want to see their businesses deteriorate because of these things.”
She added: “We have never stopped trying to organize the district and we would love to get a Main Streets type of organization back in Codman Square if time and resources would allow.”
Loesch-Johnson said that neighbors also need to add to that support. “Our small businesses need our support and not just as customers but also in helping them organize themselves,” she said. “In the past there was a merchant’s association and there isn’t one now. We are missing a Main Streets.”
An Owner Sees a Measure of Hope
There is no arguing against what the eyes of owners and tenants tell them about the vacancies in Codman Square. But Antoinette Rodney, an owner of several buildings – including the one that houses the 02124 US Post Office – and other spaces, many of them vacant – argues that there is hope.
“Our goal is to have our properties be a busy and vibrant part of the community, and we’re looking forward to bringing in new businesses soon,” she said.
Rodney’s property includes what was to be a Popeye’s fast-food chicken restaurant, which never opened amid persistent resistance from neighbors, particularly the CSNC, which opposed it mainly on grounds of health.
She said the storefront, which still includes signage for Popeye’s, will be converted into two spaces in the coming months.
Another location, the shuttered Subway sandwich shop, has been under construction for more than a year, with plans to open a sit-down Dominican restaurant in the space. “We think it will be a fantastic addition to the Square,” said Rodney.
Meanwhile, work is being done on the former Jordy’s location – which closed last month after 65 years in the Square. The new owners, an LLC controlled by the Stamatos brothers of Jamaica Plain, have taken out a building permit to renovate the storefront for an unnamed tenant.
There are other positive notes: Two banks remain in the Square – Rockland Trust and Bank of America – while just down Talbot Avenue, Fresh Food Generation Restaurant has secured a liquor license and made renovations over the summer.
And Gourmet Kreyol Restaurant owner Nathalie LeCorps is preparing to start construction and pinpointing a January opening for her sit-down, full service tapas restaurant, ‘Doune e Pepe’ at 657 Washington St.
“I think there are some merchants that are trying really hard to change the image,” said Loesch-Johnson. “Some of the newer businesses have been very thoughtful about their storefronts and we appreciate that. We want storefronts that are inviting but many storefronts are stuck in the past and aren’t thoughtful about the aesthetics.”
