It was a deal about three years in the making. Officially known as the Bristol Shopping Center, and commonly referred to as Gooding Plaza, the 10.3-acre commercial property located at 6-40 Gooding Ave., the southeast corner of Hope Street and Gooding Avenue, was sold by the Town of Bristol to Gooding Realty Corporation (GRC) for $2.8 million; the closing happened at the end of January.

It does not include the plaza on the north side of Gooding Avenue, currently anchored by Seabra.

“It took a while to arrive at a final price, and eventually we met the Town’s asking price, based on an appraisal they had done,” said GRC President Ray DeLeo. “It seems like it took a long time, but there were no major hold-ups, it was just a matter of pinning down the details.”

According to Mr. DeLeo, in 1958 the land was an open field that had been deeded to the town. It determined that it would make a good site for a shopping center anchored by a First National supermarket. The town requested bids from developers, and GRC, which was organized for the purpose of the bid, submitted the winning proposal. They signed a 99-year property lease with the town, with rent terms as the only negotiable options, and developed the land for general business use.

Original GRC principals included Ray’s father, Raymond DeLeo, local businessmen William Manchester and John Watson, and Caesar Brito and his son, Joseph Sr. The makeup of the company today includes many of the same surnames.

In 2018, 61 years into the lease, the base term ended, leaving a 38-year option. GRC decided they wanted to make additional improvements to the property, and as it would only make sense to do so as owners, they proposed purchasing the property outright while they still have nearly four decades remaining on their lease.

Part of the process included negotiating the use of parking spaces with the adjacent fire station, designing landscaping like traffic islands and foliage, and hiring an architect to do conceptual drawings.

GRC is also proposing a curb cut on Naomi Street to alleviate traffic turning from that road onto Gooding Avenue. A traffic study is in the works, and they will be making their case before the town planning and zoning boards.

If approved, GRC will pay half the cost of improving the northern end of Naomi Street and make other improvements like greening the plaza, and adding rain collection and stormwater management.

In addition, they are actively working with MG Commercial real estate to advertise vacant spaces and increase the density of the plaza. “We wanted to spruce up the plaza, but it didn’t make sense to pour money into a place we didn’t own,” said Mr. DeLeo. “This is better for us, and the tenants.”

It’s better for the town, too. “We were interested in improving the property and getting businesses on the tax rolls,” said Town Administrator Steven Contente. “Proceeds from the sale will go into a restricted fund, where it can serve as an endowment, accruing interest which will be allocated toward capital projects.”