The Framingham-based general contractor Vision Builders Co. started the first half of 2008 working on variety of major new projects, expanding its scope to include a range of new industries. 

"From renovating two old churches in Whitman and Carver, Mass., for the Archdiocese of Boston, to building out the Dudley Sq. Restaurant in Roxbury, to jobs with retail giants like McDonald's, Mattress Discounters, and Walgreen's, crews have been keeping busy meeting a series of aggressive deadlines," said Vision Builders' president Anthony Gagliardi.

Here's a round-up of Vision Builders' latest projects:
*980 Paradise Rd. retail building, Swampscott, Mass.
Vision Builders will soon be constructing a new 6500 s/f retail building for a repeat client, Centercorp Retail Properties, a company for which the firm constructed a building in Salem in 2007.  The new space will include a Dunkin' Donuts, a T-Mobile and one of the north shore's first Five Guys Burgers.  

*Dudley Sq. Restaurant at Dudley Renaissance Center, Roxbury, Mass.
Vision Builders is currently doing the build-out of the Dudley Sq. Restaurant, an 8000 s/f venue located in the brand-new Dudley Renaissance Center, a four-floor, 12,000 s/f entertainment complex located in the heart of Dudley Sq.

*McDonald's McCafe Renovations, multiple locations throughout N.E. The owners of the majority of the 14,000 independently-owned McDonald's in the U.S. have ordered up "McMakeovers" of their restaurants. In order to capitalize on what's estimated to be a $60 billion industry, many McDonald's are adding McCafe's: same basic menu, same menu, same quick service, but with a whole new look and feel that includes a different décor, with "cushier" booths, strategically mounted plasma TVs, and free Wi-Fi, plus a slew of new coffee-bar type menu items.
Vision Builders has already completed work on nine locations across New England.  The firm is doing the construction work overnight, so customers who stop in for their morning "cup of Joe" see the transformation take place right before their eyes.  

And finally, Vision Builders has completed work on several well-known shopping plazas in Massachusetts, making renovations to the Wellesley Corner Retail Complex in Wellesley, and to the Horace Mann Shopping Plaza, in Franklin.