~Photo by Ashley Taylor Ocean State Job Lot frustrated with bid to replace Broadway Star Market By Ashley Taylor The Ocean State Job Lot is off to a tough start in their bid to open a new store in the heart of Winter Hill. At a community meeting last week, bad spelling and heated exchanges with neighbors might not have helped. Five neighbors walked out of the meeting after a Job Lot presentation spelled Somerville with two m's.

When the mistake was pointed out, Job Lot executive John Barbato replied, "We misspelled Somerville. Thank you very much. You have any other comments?"

Bob Allen, attorney for Jim Cohen, the owner of the property at 299 Broadway, raised other problems with Job Lot and city relations. He said city officials "have thrown every possible obstacle in front of us."

"Never ever have I gone through such a rigorous process and have the City delay things as much as they have when we, from day one, have listened to everything that they said to a point where I feel that I've been misled at times," Allen said.

In November, the general merchandise discount store signed a 10-year lease to rent the vacant Star Market site. Before the lease can take effect, Ocean State Job Lot must go before Somerville's Planning Board for approval. That meeting is scheduled for July 15 at City Hall.

After Star Market closed in 2007, Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said his priority for the space was another grocery store.

After a long search, however, no grocery was interested in renting the entire building. Tom Godino, the leasing agent for the building, said that since 2007, he had spoken with 22 grocery stores to try to find someone to replace Star Market, but that the building – 27,000 square feet – was either too large or too small for the potential tenants.

Godino called it "an obsolete size when you're talking about the modern supermarket." According to Godino, DeMoulas Market Basket would only be interested if they could have 100,000 square feet. One grocer, Seabra, was interested but needed a smaller space. Trader Joe's also wanted a smaller space of 10,000 to 12,000 square feet, he said.

Godino said that the closest they came to a grocery store was Ocean State Job Lot, which sells non-perishable foods at discount prices.

Today, the large commercial space on a busy stretch of Broadway sits vacant.

Maria Cardinal, of Grant Street, which is right behind the former Star Market, complained that "Winter Hill looks like a dump." She also complained that insulation from the roof of the building was blowing into her yard and that roof runoff was ruining her garden.

Barbato said Ocean State is planning to improve the lot. They plan to add a green area in place of the loading zone along Broadway as well as generally landscaping the parking lot.

Samara Winterfeld, of Sewall Street, which borders the back of the parking lot at 299 Broadway, said she is willing to compromise to get someone in the building. Winterfeld complained of sex, drugs, and noisy behavior in the vacant lot.

"We see the most disgusting, foul behavior in that lot and sidelots every day… People take a crap, people piss, people get drunk and pass out, there's drug use, there's fireworks, there's trash. I understand that this might not be the most ideal solution for our community short-term, long-term, but I'm at a point right now as an owner where I picked up 10 unwrapped condoms and two empty bottles of vodka from my front yard, and I know it's because this space lays empty."

Ocean State Job Lot's special permit application before the Planning Board is at 6 p.m. July 15 at City Hall.