We're a nonprofit partnership of friends, neighbors and businesses --- committed to making downtown Natick a vital, exciting place.

Natick Center is a vital, thriving interesting place to live, work and visit. The respect shown for the historical character of our buildings, the prosperous and friendly business atmosphere, the activities and events on the common, and our growth as a center of arts and culture, all make Natick Center a special place.

Natick Center Associates is an organization made up of property owners, retail and office people, concerned neighbors, town officials, non-profits, and corporations. We strive to be a great example of a successful public - private partnership. We care about preserving the small town feel and the big city amenities. We care about the health and well being of all the residents and businesses. We applaud the perseverance and vitality of The Center for Arts in Natick. We know that Downtown Matters.

Our Mission

Our Mission is to maximize the public and private value of Natick Center for everyone who lives, works, or visits here. We’re committed to encouraging active participation in the life of downtown Natick, enhancing its physical environment and business climate, encouraging redevelopment efforts that are consistent with its historic character, actively recruiting new businesses, strengthening existing ones, promoting the general health and wellbeing of the community and advancing Natick Center as a center for Arts and Culture.

What We Do

Natick Center Associates works in partnership with the Town of Natick and community groups --- from the public schools and the recreation department to the library, the Natick Historical Commission, and the Chamber of Commerce --- to enhance Natick Center as a good place to live and work.

Together we collaborate on events and celebrations...advocate for thoughtful design and planning...help quality businesses expand or locate here... work to improve parking and pedestrian safety...and sponsor projects like the MBTA mural and Moran Park. In short, we're the impetus behind many of the changes you've seen over the last 5 years. And we’re not done yet! We need your help to keep the momentum going and undertake exciting new projects.

History

The Natick Center Associates organization has been around for more than forty years as an all-volunteer organization. Between 1995 and 1999 Natick Center Associates, Inc. received three downtown revitalization grants from the Commonwealth. The infusion of funds allowed Natick Center Associates to hire a professional planner to serve as executive director and downtown manager.

The financial support also enabled us to expand our purpose and scope of activities to work with the Town in a public-private partnership on all issues and policies relating to the revitalization of downtown Natick as a multi-use town center.

The $250,000 we received in Sign and Facade funds alone leveraged $1,500,000 in private sector improvements in downtown Natick. And overall, we have been directly responsible for $2,500,000of investment. Please note that this amount does not include any of the private sector investments that have occurred coincidentally during our tenure. We were proud to be chosen as the Massachusetts recipient of the Federal Home Loan Bank’s Year 2000 award for outstanding work in community development.

One of our most important objectives still remains in front of us: to work with the Town to solve the parking problem in downtown Natick. We have just concluded a real estate feasibility analysis that evaluates alternative land use and financing scenarios for parking and mixed-use development in downtown Natick. We are now working to secure grant funds for further study of the impacts of the identified alternatives. We also continue to work with TCAN to ensure that the arts really do bring additional economic vitality to Natick Center. And we are working with the Chamber as well, to put Natick Center on the cultural tourism map.

In 1996, 70 downtown businesses were members of the organization today property owners, retail and office people, concerned neighbors, town officials, non-profits, and regional corporations are members.

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