GEM LOCATION

By Don Shilling

The prime Westford Centre location is preparing to develop more offices and retail space.

CANFIELD — Jeweler Tim Smith is out to engage more of his shoppers’ senses in his new store.

Large windows allow in plenty of sunlight. Big-screen televisions show images of high-end jewelry designs, and blowers push out a scent that was designed specifically for the Smith & Co. store in Westford Centre on U.S. Route 224.

Research shows that people feel better when they have sunlight, and they feel comforted by certain scents, Smith said.

The scent, developed by ScentAir of North Carolina, is meant to be low-key, but the level can be adjusted depending on how many people are in the store, Smith said.

“It’s very calming and relaxing. People tend to linger,” he said.

Smith held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new store Thursday. He said he was eager to move from the plaza at Tippecanoe Road and Route 224 because buildings that had been developed along the roads were blocking the view of his store.

The new store is located in the retail area of Westford Centre, which includes office complexes, a housing development and golf course.

The plaza space along Route 224 is nearly full. Chuck Whitman, president of CTW Development, said a cellular phone store and children’s hair salon will open soon. He is negotiating with another tenant, which will leave only one vacancy.

Whitman said, however, that he plans to start construction in the spring on another retail section to be located behind the plaza. It is to have 180,000 square feet, and Whitman hopes the anchor tenant will be a grocery store.

Construction also is set to begin in the spring on the sixth office building in the complex. The other five buildings have 125,000 square feet and are nearly full, Whitman said.

He plans to begin construction in the summer on an assisted living center that will be part of the development.

Whitman said the golf course had a successful year, and he was happy with the 14 housing starts that were logged in 2008, given the slowdown in the economy. He said about half of the condominiums and villas and about 35 percent of the single-family lots have been sold.

Smith said he is excited by the location because of the traffic along Route 224 and the visibility of his store. He said state records indicate 32,000 cars a day pass the store.

The new store is the same size as the old store, but it was designed so that more space is dedicated to the sales floor. That allowed him to increase his inventory and double his staff from four to eight.

Smith said he is “guardedly optimistic” that the economy will recover. Until it does, he said he thinks people still will be shopping for jewelry in order to celebrate special events.

He said he was surprised that his store had a strong October, given the large drops in the stock market, but business is slower this month. He said he expects the opening of the store to provide a bump in sales as shoppers stop by to check it out.

On hand at the ribbon-cutting was Smith’s father, Daniel, who operated Daniel E. Smith Jewelers in Salem from 1957 to 1993.

“This is phenomenal,” said the elder Smith, who is 80. “It’s the ultimate in jewelry stores.”

His son worked with him for 17 years before he bought Menaldi Jewelers in 1989 and opened a store in Boardman.

shilling@vindy.com