Milford Students Help Redesign Nearby Shopping Mall

MILFORD, MA — Two local high school students are contributing to a redesign of one of the first suburban shopping malls in the country.

Sophomore Sami Ettahiri and senior Jon Majkut are both interns at the McAuliffe Center's ‘2025 PROJECT VISION’ intern program. Through the 5-week program, they were tasked with the challenge of envisioning a clean-energy community development to replace Shopper’s World in Framingham.

The outdoor mall was recently purchased by Urban Edge, a real estate investment trust, which has proposed converting portions of the mall into mixed-use development.

Ettahiri, Majkut and the other interns developed sustainable community designs. They presented their ideas to local stakeholders and urban planning professionals on Friday.

"We believe that young people bring fresh perspectives and innovative thinking to urban planning challenges," said a McAuliffe Center representative. "Through PROJECT VISION, we're ensuring that the voices of MetroWest's next generation are heard in this important redevelopment process."