The controversy over Dunkin' Donuts has long since died down, but there are still two empty storefronts at the plaza at 79 Lynnfield St. -- one next to the coffee shop and the other a few units down next to H&R Block. The two empty units have been vacant for a few years now. Is there another type of business you think that area is still missing? What would be a good fit for the plaza? Leave your suggestions in the comment section below.

Aside from Martino's and a Bank of America Home Loans office, the retail strip mall at 202 Newbury St. (Route 1) is an empty island along the highway. The property used to be home to Countrywide Home Loans and a few other businesses, but emptied out and has been largely vacant for the past few years. Currently, 6,000 square feet of space is available for lease, according to an online listing. So readers, anything in particular you'd like to see in this area of Route 1? Anything missing from the landscape you think would be a good fit here? Let us know in the comment section below.

The commercial building that used to occupy 15 Wallis St. was knocked down a while ago in anticipation of a new downtown post office being built there and work on the canal that runs underneath the site. The plans for the new post office, however, appear to have fallen through and the existing branch next-door will remain indefinitely while flood work slated for that section of the North River still awaits a green light from the mayor's office. Any action on the downtown flood mitigation project is on hold, says Mayor Ted Bettencourt, until consultants complete the full schematic designs, …

Route 114 (or Andover Street) is a hive of commercial activity as it runs through Peabody, chiefly thanks to the Northshore Mall -- the Liberty Tree Mall too -- and surrounding larger retail stores. Additionally, there are good variety of restaurants and fast food chains dotting the length of the road, and of course there's the North Shore version of the "Automile" between Peabody and Danvers dealerships. By many standards, regardless of a few larger vacant parcels, the mostly commercial sector is a success and crucial to the local economy. So what do you think, is there anything missing from…

This vacant plot here at 100 Foster St. was once home to Angel's Auto Sales and sits between Champions Pub on one side and another now vacant building at the corner of Birney Street. The property, which is less than a half acre and contains a small office, is zoned now for General Business and is owned by a company in Arkansas. What would you like to see go in here? Another used car dealership? Something else? Let us know in the comment section below.

As you may have heard, Newbury Comics is moving up the street and inside the Northshore Mall near Macy's. The staff says the move will be completed by the end of the month. Once that happens, the sizeable storefront the shop occupies in a retail plaza on Route 114 will be empty. So what would you like to see come in to replace Newbury Comics? The store currently shares the plaza with Starbucks, FedEx/Kinko's, Big Picture Framing and Omni Fitness Equipment. Let us know your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below.

The focal point of attention on Peabody's downtown inevitably centers on Main Street, as a major thoroughfare to and from Salem and points east, as much for its traffic safety issues and vacant storefronts. Rebirth of the downtown seems synonymous with a vibrant Main Street. But what about one of the other roads to and from the downtown -- Foster Street? This half-mile stretch of road has always been part of any revitalization or rezoning plans for the area, but isn't in the spotlight as much as Main Street, except when it comes to flooding. Unarguably, parts of the street could use some help…

This plot of land in West Peabody could become any number of things in the future. The Russell Street quarry owned and operated by Aggregate Industries sits on more than 50 acres of land surrounded by homes, wildlife, wetlands and the city's bike path. The giant hole in the ground, notwithstanding, there's a lot of potential for the future of the site. The former quarry owners and the city, and then Aggregate for the past several years, have discussed several options for a closure plan for the site once the quarry is out of commission for good. Those plans included everything from a housing …

The property at 167 Washington St. has been vacant or only marginally used for several years -- the Comcast signs are still on the building -- despite being located in a busy intersection in Downtown Peabody. Well, it turns out that new owner Gary Nadeau of Salem is trying to ink a deal with a financial institution, be it a bank or credit union, to take up residence at the corner of Washington and Foster streets. The City Council unanimously approved a special permit for a drive-through window Thursday night with a couple conditions: the drive-up service can't be for fast food and if in the …

This land on Cross Street next to Long's Jewelers and across from the Northshore Mall has been vacant for some time. What would you like to see go in here? The land is for sale and is zoned for Regional Business with a 4,388-square-foot building. Let us know your suggestions in the comments section below.

Route 1 is in the midst of a rebirth with different commercial projects underway, replacing some old and iconic fixtures from over the years, all along the stretch of the highway as it runs through Peabody. So what would you like to see on Route 1? Do you think something is missing now that could be a hit locally? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

So while we're thinking about Dunkin' Donuts, what do you think should go in over at the empty store now on Route 1 South? The Scrivanos Group out of North Reading opened its brand new shop in October just up the road in a new plaza at 124 Newbury St. The location at 108 Newbury St. since then has sat vacant. Would you like to see a similar use -- a fast food restaurant, perhaps -- come in or something completely different for this section of Route 1? Let us know your ideas in the comments section below.

The old L. Fine & Co. factory at 143 Lynnfield St. (just behind Craig's Pond and the railroad tracks) has been vacant for years. So what would you like to see go in here? Redevelopment proposals have been floated around in the past, most notably one to convert the old factory into residential condos, but that plan never came to fruition. Remis Industries, which used to be next-door, was in similar straits until a few years ago when developer Sal Palumbo knocked down the building and created a new plaza. The Fine factory, which has four buildings on the six-acre site, is accessed from Corwin …

The general sentiment among city officials is that the municipal parking lot on Mill Street is not used to its fullest potential, let alone the lack of any aesthetic appeal. For the past three decades, the city has leased the land from the Mass. Bay Transportation Authority for $1 a year and has now moved to buy the land outright for $235,000 at the behest of Mayor Ted Bettencourt. Bettencourt wants control of the land, which will be torn up to install new twin culverts for flood mitigation, and says it can be a key piece of revitalization downtown. He has mentioned several times the …

Over the past three years, CVS has expressed interest in moving across Lowell Street to build a new, larger pharmacy at the home of the former Town & Country Homes of New England office. The most recent plans to turn the mostly empty building at 532 Lowell St. into a pharmacy fell through this past fall after the petitioner (CVS) and the property owner could not come to an agreement, according to attorney John Keilty. A special permit request was before the City Council to modify some of the conditions placed on a drive-through window, in regard to traffic, but the petition was eventually …

Most recently, this now empty storefront at 76 Walnut St. was home to Cucina Italiana run by Frederico and Marco Barbosa. The downtown cafe, located at the corner of Walnut and Harris streets not far from the Salem line, opened last May and served up a fusion of Italian cuisine and Brazilian pastries. Some months ago the cafe windows were blacked out and a sign was posted announcing the business was closed for renovations. In more recent weeks, however, that sign turned into a "For Lease" notice. The main area of the restaurant space is more than 3,000 square feet. So what would you like to …

The Fire Bull Restaurant shuttered its doors seven months ago and now the building is for sale. The Brazilian barbecue closed its doors at 5 Central St. in September after several years in operation, apparently as business waned, and then later that fall it came to light that 11 former workers at the restaurant were never notified of the plans to close permanently beforehand and they were owed about $10,000 in wages. The restaurant was owned by Albert Riso and wife Glaydes Coelho, although Coehlo ran the business day-to-day. The U.S. Department of Labor conducted an investigation into the …

Judging by the majority of comments from our readers on this topic, you'd like to see something else hit Route 114 at the former Borders Books & Music instead of another car dealership. Brian Kelly of Kelly Automotive Group is contemplating turning the building into a two-floor FIAT dealership -- relocating the Danvers dealership just up the road onto that site -- but he hasn't filed any plans with the city yet to that end. City officials said they were aware of a letter that was sent out to neighbors on Loris Road recently and that Kelly was still in the process of exploring whether the …

This medical office building at 17 Centennial Dr. used to be the home of the North Shore Medical Center's North Shore Cancer Center until it moved over to the new campus off Endicott Street in Danvers in 2009. The property covers just about four acres and the two-story building, now vacant, is just shy of 48,000 square feet. It's adjacent to another medical office building and across the street from the Children's Hospital Boston North facility. Combined Properties, Inc., based out of Malden, purchased the site in 2010 for $2 million and is advertising it for a long-term lease. As a …

The former home of East-West Mortgage in Peabody still sits empty on Route 1 South. The three-story office building was constructed in 2003 and is 32,000 square feet in size with 100 parking spots. The building has been vacant for at least the last three years, although it was recently picked up by Boston firm WB&T Realty, LLC in foreclosure for $1.2 million last April. What would you like to see here at 84 Newbury St.? Should it just stay an office building or something else?