TJ Maxx Corporation has decided to close half of its 1,600 AJ Wright stores nationwide. However, the Chelsea location will continue operating, according to company representatives. The store may be converted into either a Marshall’s or a TJ Maxx location. The new AJ Wright store at Marketbasket Mall had opened just two months prior, featuring a costly renovation of the former Marketbasket space and generating considerable excitement during an economically challenging period. The store had brought employment opportunities and represented a promising addition to the expanding retail sector along Everett Avenue. That optimism shifted when TJ Maxx, the parent company overseeing AJ Wright, announced plans to eliminate the AJ Wright brand by shutting down all 1600 stores across the country. Company officials confirmed that the Chelsea location would remain operational, with the first two months of business producing satisfactory results. More than half of the AJ Wright stores will survive but under a different banner, including Chelsea’s store. According to company representatives, the Chelsea location would probably transition to either a Marshall’s or a TJ Maxx. City Manager Jay Ash disclosed to the Record that he had communicated a preference to company officials. Though Ash declined to specify his exact preference, it is widely known that he frequents Marshall’s regularly. The current Chelsea store occupies 35,000 square feet. Construction on an adjacent Dockside Restaurant is underway and is expected to open in late spring 2011. Additional retail shops are planned for the mall as well, Ash noted. The recent announcement that the FBI will establish its New England headquarters across Everett Avenue near the Wyndham Hotel has generated considerable attention in the area. “There are many more retailers now searching out the area for possible space than ever before,” said Ash. A Home Goods store is currently being built in the former Marketbasket space as well.
Chelsea Store May Become Marshall’s
