Forest Hills Electrical Supply is moving to Randolph—and opening a small shop on the JP/Roslindale border—after being pushed out of its longtime Washington Street location by a forthcoming housing development.
The company was informed its lease would not be renewed this year to make way for the Commons at Forest Hills Station apartment development at 3593-3615 Washington St.
Most of the company’s business will move to Randolph, but a small shop will also open in January at 3859 Washington St., on the other side of the Forest Hills T Station area, said Matthew Albert, son of Forest Hill Electrical owner Dennis Albert. That location will share space with the firm Davis Monuments.
“It will be for neighborhood people who come into the store, so we don’t lose [their business],” Matthew Albert told the Gazette.
Having to move “is very disappointing,” Albert added. “We’d love to stay here. It’s been a hard, hard year, getting everything together.”
Forest Hills Electrical and the nonprofit Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) have both been longtime tenants of the Washington Street site. The Commons project will create 285 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and townhouses, retail space and open space on the property.
NACA CEO Bruce Marks did not return multiple Gazette phone calls.
The Boston Redevelopment Authority’s (BRA) Back Streets program, aimed at retaining and growing the city’s industrial and commercial businesses and preserving its job base, was involved in helping Forest Hills Electric find a new home by discussing financing and identifying locations in Boston where the company could relocate, BRA spokesperson Melina Schuler told the Gazette.
“Ultimately, the decision on where to move had to be made by the business owner. We wish them all the best in their new location, and are pleased they are maintaining a presence in the city,” she said.
The property is located across the street from the former Flanagan & Seaton Motor Car Company location, which is also under consideration for mixed-use development, and the MBTA Arborway bus yard.