MBTA Or Market Basket: Future Of Medford Property Up In The Air

MEDFORD, MA — The MBTA Board of Directors announced its intentions to purchase the 21-acre property on 440 Riverside Ave. during its most recent meeting.

The location was previously a distribution warehouse for Anheuser-Busch beer until it closed last year. The authority reportedly intends to use the industrial space as a location to store electric buses.
Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn expressed her desire to not have the space used for this purpose, and instead be used to open a Market Basket grocery store.

“Even though this is a private sale, I felt I had to get as involved as possible because our community has made it clear that access to affordable groceries is far more important and impactful to the neighborhood than a de facto parking lot for the MBTA,” Lungo-Koehn said.

Lungo-Koehn said she met with MBTA Commissioner Phillip Eng, Market Basket officials, and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll in an attempt to change the outcome of the property’s future.

“It is my understanding that we will continue to meet and that there is no sale imminent,” Lungo-Koehn said. “It’s my hope that Market Basket is able to open a store at the site with minimal bus operations for the T, but ultimately this sale is up to the current owners.”