SOUTH DEERFIELD — With their latest property purchase in South Deerfield, the co-owners of J2K Realty LLC are planning a mixed-used development for the former Cumberland Farms site at 2 Sugarloaf St.
The $195,000 sale, which took place on July 25, falls roughly seven years after the site first became vacant, according to Deerfield Selectboard Chair Trevor McDaniel. Since then, the gas pumps and tanks have been removed.
J2K Realty LLC already owns several buildings in South Deerfield, including the homes of Ciesluk’s Market, Bueno Y Sano and Produce National Bank. According to J2K Realty co-owner Justin Killeen, the LLC also owns 19 apartments in town.
Killeen, of Leverett, said he and co-owner Jason Kicza had spoken with Cumberland Farms Inc. on and off for around three years, starting conversations that had died out until now. The two wanted to buy the vacant property to fix it up and improve the area.
“It’s been sitting there for so long, and it’s just such a disservice to what otherwise is such an incredible little town,” Killeen said. “We have to do something constructive and positive here, and not just sit on our hands.”
He anticipates tearing down the existing building due to its “blighted” condition, and plans to build a first-floor commercial space that will have upper-floor apartments.
To follow restrictions set by Cumberland Farms Inc. for the 100-by-100-square-foot property, the new owners cannot open a convenience store in the first-floor space. Besides this constraint, Killeen noted that their plans for the commercial space depend on the businesses that step forward. His wish list includes “something to draw people into town, something creative and interesting, something to do on the weekends.”
“We want to find the right types of diverse tenants that want to start new businesses and have new ideas,” he added.
Killeen and Kicza met with Deerfield’s Planning and Economic Development Coordinator Alexandria Galloway and other town officials before buying the property. Galloway said they will share a “robust conversation” regarding next steps once J2K Realty’s architect drafts a plan. After that, Killeen and Kicza will need to seek the necessary approvals from the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals, Galloway noted. A site plan review and a special permit hearing will be required.
“We’re not coming in with this grand plan of ‘this is exactly what it has to look like,'” Killeen said. “It’s going to be shaped by the town; it’s going to be shaped by the community.”
With a mixed-use development, Killeen said, he hopes the property can become “the gem of the town, and something new and beautiful and exciting.”
