developments.
Business developments aid residential tax rate
Sandy Conaty reviews all the development plans for an 18.32-square-mile town
of about 13,425 people. Given the numbers, her job sounds less than exciting,
until she says she works for the town of Seekonk.
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Route 6 Seekonk has turned into a shopping Mecca over the past few years, attracting Wal-Mart, Bob’s Store, Target, Kohl’s, Best Buy and Home Depot, as well as new restaurants like Vinny Testa’s, and a number of other big name chains that continue moving in. This year, Lowe’s is taking a spot in the town, along with Acura of Newport and a Georgia’s Carpet Outlet.
“There isn’t really any more space for a business on Route 6. The way the industry works now is when someone leaves, another business replaces it quickly by building right where the other one was,” said Conaty, Seekonk’s town planner, making reference to Best Buy building on 41 Commerce Way where Staples once sat.
Acura of Newport owner Brian J. Sadler is moving near Alperts Furniture on Route 6 to be closer to his customer base and gain more exposure than was possible on Connell Highway.
“The core of our customers are from the Providence-metro area, so we want to be closer to them,” Sadler said. “Also, I needed more space. I’m moving from a one-acre lot to a three-acre lot.”
Business owners who can’t find a place on Route 6 are getting as close to it as they can by vying to build on nearby space, like Route 114A, Conaty said.
“Even when there isn’t room, they find a way,” she said.
Businesses pushing their way into towns can be a problem for residents, but in Seekonk, the residential areas are separate from the corporate congestion, so there has been little opposition to developments, according to Town Administrator Timothy P. McInerney.
“There isn’t really room for new developments, so they just keep re-developing one location, which is great,” McInerney said.
“There are public safety issues with car accidents and congestion issues, but there hasn’t been any outcries to stop developers from coming in. … If the businesses weren’t here, the residential tax ($13.98 per thousand valuation) would be higher.”
Between the year 2000 and December 2003, 415 business owners applied for business certificates in the town. Massachusetts requires businesses to file a business certificate in the town clerk’s office unless it is incorporated or the surname of the owner is in the name of the business.
Seekonk’s Tax Assessor Richard Gonsalves remembers when he took the job in 1989 and the biggest businesses were Ann & Hope and Lechmere – both of which have been replaced.
When asked why so many businesses want to be in the town, Gonsalves replied, “Location, location, location.”
Seekonk is 37 miles south of Boston, four miles east of Providence, and 40 miles southeast of Worcester, with easy I-95 highway access.
“Route 6 is a very desirable place for a business because it’s easy to get to and accessible from a lot of different places,” Gonsalves said. “When one big store comes in, others can piggyback them. They all target the same consumer.”
Twenty-five percent of the town’s value is commercial – a relatively large number, Gonsalves said – and 75 percent is residential.
For fiscal year 2003, Seekonk’s total tax revenue was $22,211,665, with $7,946,998
from commercial taxes and $14,264,667.71 residential.
