GREENFIELD — The doors to three businesses in the former Wilson’s Department Store on Main Street remain open despite a previous redevelopment timeline that had them moving out by spring.

“The timetable is more in the summer or early fall for us to be out,” said Justin Vincent, co-owner of the Hens & Chicks consignment shop, one of the three businesses. “When we can be out, they want us out.”

Wilson’s Department Store, which was one of the last independent, family-owned department stores in the country, closed in January 2020, shortly after Kevin J. O’Neil, former president of the 137-year-old retail store, announced his plans to retire. Mark Abramson, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Commercial Upton-Massamont Realtors, previously said the property, which includes the parking lot behind the building and two lots on Chapman Street, was priced at $3.95 million when it officially went on the market.

In November 2022, Mayor Roxann Wedegartner announced that the city worked in partnership with The Community Builders, MassDevelopment and the Franklin Community Co-op on the property’s acquisition. The redevelopment plan for the Main Street property involves relocating and expanding Green Fields Market — which is operated by the Franklin Community Co-op — into the building’s first floor and turning the upper floors into mixed-income rental apartments. The project recently appeared before the Historical Commission and will next appear before the Planning Board on Thursday, May 4.

On the same morning as Wedegartner’s announcement in November, the three businesses that lease space in the Wilson’s building — Cleary Jewelers, Hens & Chicks, and Lucky Bird — were informed of the sale and told they’d be expected to vacate their respective spaces by the spring.

Vincent, who has co-owned Hens & Chicks with his wife, Mindy, since 2018, said MassDevelopment has helped the couple find alternative locations in Greenfield for their shop.

“We have one we really like that we’re hoping will work out,” he said. “We’re still negotiating. ... Whatever space we move into has to be customized and made for retail.”

Owners of the other two shops, including Kerry Semaski, owner of Cleary Jewelers, a business that has been in Greenfield for 90 years, and Kelly Archer of Lucky Bird, declined to discuss the circumstances surrounding the future of their businesses.

Though she wasn’t ready to share plans for her business moving forward, Archer said she has noticed less traffic to the store in recent months. She isn’t sure if that can be attributed to public confusion over whether the three businesses remained open following the announcement of the redevelopment plans for Wilson’s, or if it’s a reflection of the economy.

“We’re still here and need people’s support,” Archer said.

Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.

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