It has been over a century - 117 years in fact - since the original three landmark buildings at the former Foxboro State Hospital were commissioned. Built of red brick and featuring striking architectural details, the original "cottages" set a tone for what would eventually become a sprawling campus at the end of Chestnut St.
Thanks to the painstaking efforts of VinCo Properties, those buildings, now restored to mint condition, remain part of the local landscape. Vince O'Neill developed The Offices at Chestnut Green and The Shops at Chestnut Green as part of a mixed-use master plan. O'Neill teamed with co-developer Matthew Abrams, president of Abrams Properties on the Chestnut Green Apartments. Rolling green lawns and stately architecture have turned back the calendar a half-century or more, to a time when the hospital campus was characterized by its immaculate grounds - a reflection of values embodied in design, construction and meticulous maintenance.
Keeping faith in his vision for the iconic site amid a recessionary business cycle, it is hard not to appreciate what developer Vince O'Neill has accomplished. Refusing to be handcuffed by conventional wisdom, VinCo Properties committed to a development plan that revitalized this unique and timeless historical landmark.
Set amongst beautifully restored Queen Anne Victorian architecture and one hundred year old oak, maple and beech trees, the 93-acre Chestnut Green campus provides all the conveniences of urban living in an idyllic suburban setting. Situated just one mile from Gillette Stadium, the once abandoned site features 100,000 s/f of Class A office space, 55,000 s/f of open-air retail shops, 55 residential housing units and 40 acres of community playing fields and walking trails.
VinCo Properties is a development firm with great vision and the ability to bring together a team that can build, repair and refurbish buildings that meet the needs of today's corporate objectives. Sometimes that means preserving treasures from the past, making them workable and practical in the present. Sometimes it means creating community where none existed. Sometimes it means blending objectives, and creating a new synergy bigger and better than the sum of its parts.
While Chestnut Green is still a work in progress, VinCo Properties is very proud of what it has accomplished thus far, and takes great satisfaction in helping preserve the legacy of this venerable campus for future generations - maybe even for another 117 years.
The leasing team for the Shops at Chestnut Green were Dusty and Bobby Burke of American Commercial Real Estate. Working closely with developer Vince O'Neill and project manager Dave Crocini, Dusty and Bobby identified and invited a broad range of attractive retail shops and restaurants to explore growing their businesses at Chestnut Green. Because of the site's unique mixed-use community with its blend of municipal services, offices, historic architecture, residential units and recreational opportunities, the Shops at Chestnut Green were 100% pre-leased prior to completion.
Businesses at Chestnut Green serve the local and larger community with outstanding service, high quality, and well managed uses including casual dining and quick service restaurants, nightly entertainment, pharmacy, banking and financial services, home improvement, early childhood education and care, physical fitness, gifts, dry cleaning and spa services.
Photos by Eric Gould - Helicon Design