In the US, Applegreen recently received approval to rebuild and operate 18 travel plazas along major Massachusetts roads, including the state’s main Turnpike, as part of the 35-year lease agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
MDT chose Applegreen’s proposal over those from several other notable convenience retailers, including Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, 7-Eleven, RaceTrac and Energy North Group, which operates the Haffner’s c-store banner on the East Coast.
That list also included Waltham, Massachusetts-based Global Partners, which has publicly expressed its frustration with the MDT’s decision in the days since it came down. Global Partners emphasized that its proposal was more cost-effective than Applegreen’s and is pushing the MDT to keep the state’s infrastructure local instead of working with a foreign company.
“In a decision that defies logic and long-term fiscal responsibility, MassDOT recently awarded the 35-year MA Pike rest-stop lease to a bidder offering nearly $900 million LESS in rent than Global Partners’ local offer,” Global Partners said in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday that has since been deleted. “That’s $900 million that could have helped offset budget gaps, fix roads and bridges, and spare taxpayers from looming toll hikes and excise increases.”
Bosworth said in the June 18 meeting that Applegreen’s pitch included three types of plaza designs: coastal, metro and western, all of which will be deployed depending on which part of the state each store is in. While each location will be slightly different, they’ll all focus on creating more dwell time for consumers.
Full story Global Partners objects to Applegreen’s Massachusetts project win | C-Store Dive
Share this:
