$7,360

Package Steel Systems Inc. has agreed to pay a $7,360 penalty for violating the air pollution control and groundwater discharge permit regulations at its steel building manufacturing facility in Sutton, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection announced Tuesday. The DEP said that inspections and report reviews of the building, located at 15 Harback Road, revealed that Package Steel Systems was exceeding air pollution limits set in its permit, and illegally discharging industrial wastewater into an on-site septic system. The company has agreed to comply with air emission limits and has ceased illegal wastewater discharge.

$250,000

A Worcester real estate developer has purchased the building containing the former Owl Shop for $250,000, according to property records. A change of deed for the 414 and 416 Main St. property was registered with the Worcester Registry of Deeds last week. The previous owner, Owl Shop Realty Co. Inc., granted the deed to 414-416 Main Street LLC with a principal place of business in Shrewsbury. Real estate developer Markopoulos Development announced in a social media post that it purchased the building. Last October, the tobacco shop announced it would close with the owner, Zack Photakis, saying he was moving his business to New Hampshire.

18

Loyal Companion, which operates 18 of its 53 pet stores in Massachusetts including Shrewsbury and Stow, announced Monday that the company is going out of business. Loyal Companion said all stores would close by Feb. 28. Besides Shrewsbury and Stow, Loyal Companion's Massachusetts locations include Acton, Bedford, Beverly, Boston (two), Cambridge, Canton, Concord, Dedham, Littleton, Medway, Newton, Stoneham, Sudbury, Wayland and Wellesley. It also has eight locations in Maine and two in New Hampshire. The company has sought authorization from the court to continue honoring customer gift cards and loyalty member reward vouchers at stores through Feb. 28.

$53M

A real estate company plans to start renovation and development on the property of the Stevens Linen Mill historic building this summer as part of a $53 million plan to turn the Dudley building into 156 apartments, and the rest of the property into a public event space, in addition to a riverwalk along the abutting French River. The South Carolina real estate company Stevens Mill Owner LLC purchased the 6.95-acre property at 8 Mill St. in August 2020 for $100 with intentions to redevelop. It wasn’t until May 2022 that the Dudley Planning Board approved plans.

375

The Planning Board conditionally approved a preliminary site plan for an eight-story, mixed-use apartment complex proposed steps away from Polar Park. North Carolina-based Quarterra Multifamily Communities has submitted plans to redevelop the former Smokestack Urban Barbecue building on Green Street and a neighboring portion of the former Table Talk Pies property on Washington Street into an eight-story mixed-use apartment complex. Plans call for 375 units, retail space and a seven-story parking garage. It is the third phase of a plan to redevelop the former Table Talk Pies factory, where developers Boston Capital Development are building a multistory apartment complex.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester County Business Matters: Central Mass. by the Numbers