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South
Weymouth Naval Air Base News Articles
July
26, 2005
Air base cleared now
for takeoff
By Elaine Allegrini,
Enterprise staff writer
WEYMOUTH — A generation ago,
folks in surrounding areas would look up and marvel when military aircraft from
the South Weymouth Naval Air Station took to the skies. Thousands flocked to the
air base off Route 18 to see annual shows that featured the famed U.S. Navy Blue
Angels flying team.
Since it closed in 1997, the
base has been a quiet place — its hangars decaying, its runways overgrown — as
local officials debated first one plan and then another for developing the
sprawling property that straddles Abington, Rockland and Weymouth.
Now, a plan has cleared its
last big local hurdle to turn 1,405 acres of the base into a brand-new $1
billion community of 2,855 homes, 2 million square feet of commercial space, a
golf course, other amenities and open space.
It took the Weymouth Town
Council less than 90 minutes Monday night to seal the deal to develop one of the
largest parcels south of Boston into one of the biggest planned communities in
the state.
The council's 8-3 vote for LNR
Properties Corp.'s reuse plan and associated zoning for the former air base
followed overwhelming votes of approval at open town meetings in Abington and
Rockland.
When "Village Center Plan" is
completed in around 14 years, the community will have housing for 7,200 people.
It will add 800 students to local schools and create some 4,000 permanent jobs,
LNR says.
Officials must now obtain a
land transfer from the Navy and LNR will apply for a number of state
environmental permits, a process that could take two years. It will be 2007 or
early 2008 before ground is broken for the development, officials said.
Monday night, more than 200
people — many of them union workers lobbying for thousands of construction jobs
the project is expected to bring — filled the auditorium at the Abigail Adams
Middle School. They sat nearly silent as the 11 councilors stated their
positions before the official votes — one to adopt the plan and a second vote
for the zoning.
"There is no reason to believe
a better plan will come along," said Councilor Colin McPherson.
Councilor Greg Hargadon
expressed fears that local control would be lost to the state for land that all
agreed would be developed one way or another.
"I'm afraid to say no," he
said.
In voting for the plan,
Weymouth also accepted a $13 million package of measures to ease the impact of
the development on that community. Rockland is getting a $6.3 million mitigation
package and Abington, $1.9 million.
And, there will be a $3 million
front-end bonus to be split by the three towns even before the first shovel digs
into the ground.
That $3 million will be divided
in a formula based on land area within the base — $1.38 million for Weymouth,
$1.26 million for Rockland and $360,000 for Abington.
If successful, the plan will
close the books on the federal government's 1995 base closures. The next round
of base closures heads to votes in Washington, D.C., in September. The Weymouth
base closed in September 1997.
The reuse plan unveiled by LNR
nearly a year ago needed a simple majority, but the zoning required a two-thirds
vote or eight of the 11 councilors. Both votes were 8-3.
LNR Senior Vice President David
Hall said the vote went as he expected. But it was not what 38-year Weymouth
resident Jean MacDonald hoped to see.
Holding homemade signs asking,
"Who Stands for Residents," MacDonald and other opponents stood at the entrance
to the building before the meeting, hoping to catch the attention of the 10 men
and one woman who would be voting.
"This is not a good plan," said
MacDonald, who called for consideration of a recent proposal for a wind farm on
the base, perhaps in conjunction with some housing.
The three opposing councilors
explained their votes against the plan.
"I believe this plan to be very
well-intended, but incomplete," Councilor Sue Kay said.
Councilor Paul Leary dismissed
what he called "threats" from the Navy that the land would be auctioned or sold
and local control lost. "If this project is that good, there shouldn't have to
be any scare tactics," said Leary.
"What may be a good project for
Massachusetts in this instance is not good for Weymouth," said Councilor Kenneth
DiFazio, the third dissenter.
Even those who voted for the
plan cited shortcomings and concerns they said would be addressed in the state
environmental review, such as traffic congestion on Route 18.
Councilor Michael Smart, who
questioned the plan as it was developed, said it was time to move forward. LNR's
mixed-use approach meets the Navy's demand for a reuse plan based on economic
development and the state's requirement for housing, Smart said.
Some say the development will
be a model for so-called "smart growth" in Massachusetts that puts housing near
transportation centers — there is a commuter rail station near the base — and
other existing services.
"I think this plan will work
and I think it will work well," Smart said.
Weymouth's approval ended one
chapter in the redevelopment of the base and opened another, said John Ward,
chairman of South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp., the quasi-government agency
overseeing base reuse.
"There's still a long road
ahead," said Ward.
The base used to be a training
ground for more than 1,500 military personnel and 300 civilian employees. Today,
the property is home to fewer than two dozen Coast Guard families, several
schools and a state police academy that is about to close.
The last military contingent to
leave South Weymouth for active duty was in 1990, when 400 reservists reported
for the Gulf War.
After the facility closed, the
first air base proposal, for a 2-million-square-foot shopping mall and
entertainment complex, fizzled.
June 19, 2004
Developer may make big bucks on feds' free land
By STEVE ADAMS
The Patriot Ledger
A California
developer could receive $170 million from land sales after being given 659 acres
free at the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station, if housing is a major part
of a new plan for the site, according to a market analysis commissioned by the
firm.
Lennar Partners'
profit will be far lower than that because it would help pay for the cost of
building roads and utilities on the land. But some officials now question
whether an agreement to develop the base is too vague in defining how much
Lennar could keep.
James Lavin of
Abington, a member of the South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp., which is
overseeing redevelopment of the base and negotiated the deal, said he voted
against it because it leaves too many financial questions unanswered.
It would require
Lennar to pay up to $16 million to Tri-Town for administrative expenses, $5
million to clean up a landfill and an unspecified part of roughly $151 million
in infrastructure costs to develop the site.
Although Lennar said
it would pay more than half of the infrastructure costs to redevelop the air
base, no dollar figures were given, Lavin said.
‘‘I was told (Lennar)
can't put it together until they know what the new master plan would be,'' he
said, referring to a proposal to build housing and commercial projects at the
base.
Some officials also
question whether the deal signed last month contains enough financial benefits
for Abington, Rockland and Weymouth, - the three towns the base straddles.
‘‘It certainly puts
(Lennar) in the driver's seat and I thought the community should have had better
control,'' Weymouth Town Councilor Michael Smart said. ‘‘It was unfortunate we
couldn't have had any input on it.''
Talk of adding
housing to the reuse plan also has prompted the Navy to warn that the base may
no longer qualify for a free land transfer. Such transfers are offered only if
there are plans for businesses that create permanent jobs on the land.
Lennar, based in
Irvine, Calif., wants to build housing, manufacturing, offices and stores on 659
acres that are being conveyed by the Navy for economic development. The rest of
the 1,405-acre property would be open space, recreation space and protected
wetlands.
Some observers
object because Lennar would get to keep all of the profits from land sales,
Lennar has an option to foreclose on the property and Tri-Town Corp. would build
the water and sewer system and a parkway across the base.
The towns once
counted on receiving nearly $12 million in taxes a year from a project dominated
by a giant mall - a plan that was called off in 2000 amid local opposition.
How much money
Tri-Town would have left to give back to the towns under a new plan is unclear.
By law, Tri-Town is required to return ‘‘excess revenues'' to the towns, but the
term is not further defined. Officials say overall revenues will hinge upon how
the reuse plan could change.
Some officials fault
the agreement because it gives Lennar a mortgage on 659 acres and the right to
demand $15 million in reimbursement for expenses it is sinking into the project
if Tri-Town doesn't obtain ownership from the Navy by Aug. 1, 2005. If Tri-Town
cannot pay back the money, Lennar can foreclose on the property.
‘‘There's a short
period where (Lennar) can demand to get their money back if they don't get their
way,'' said James Cunningham of Weymouth, a member of the board that oversees
the base cleanup. ‘‘And, of course, Tri-Town has no way to pay them back except
to give them the land.''
Lennar executives
say that if the three towns do not approve a new reuse plan that includes
housing, they will try to develop the property under the existing zoning that
allows the giant mall. Such a project would need approval of state environmental
regulators and construction of an $87 million road to Route 3.
The value of the
property could rise significantly if the zoning is amended to allow more
housing. Seven hundred apartments for the elderly are allowed under the current
plan.
An appraisal
performed for Tri-Town by Patriot Properties of Lynn put the value of the entire
base at $34 million under the current mall-based zoning.
Daniel DeSantis,
Tri-Town's executive director, said the agency commissioned the study so it
would know how much to charge Lennar in property taxes if Lennar gains ownership
of the land next year.
But a Lennar
consultant estimates the company could reap $170 million in land sales if the
zoning is changed to allow 2,400 housing units, one million square feet of
manufacturing, 225,000 square feet of office space and 125,000 square feet of
retail.
The consultant, the
Concord Group, said that zoning mix has the most potential to maximize
development and tax revenues over the next 14 years.
The study estimated
the infrastructure associated with that plan would cost $151 million.
Rockland Selectmen
Chairman John Llewellyn and Abington Selectmen Chairman Robert Wing could not be
reached for comment.
Officials who
support the agreement with Lennar say they need the company's experience in
military base cleanups and conversions to stave off a 2002 Navy threat to
auction the property.
‘‘I don't know why
people are screaming this is a sweetheart deal,'' said state Rep. Ronald
Mariano, D-Quincy. ‘‘I just think it's a hard negotiation.''
Six companies
responded when Tri-Town Corp. put out the call for a lead developer in 2002.
Tri-Town Corp. chose Lennar over the other finalist, Boston-based Corcoran
Jennison, because of Lennar's experience with military base conversions.
Paul Barrett, a
former Boston Redevelopment Authority director and a consultant to Corcoran
Jennison on its air base proposal, said the Lennar deal is fair given the risks
the company is taking.
‘‘There's (1,405)
acres and there's virtually no infrastructure in place that would support any
kind of development - housing, recreational or commercial,'' Barrett said.
The base still has
no confirmed water source and the uncertainty surrounding that issue makes it
less attractive to developers, he said.
‘‘The wide margin
and unknown value of those costs adds to the uncertainty, which just drives the
price down,'' Barrett said.
Steve Adams may
be reached at
sadams@ledger.com.
Copyright 2004 The
Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Saturday, June 19, 2004
June 11, 2004
Free air base transfer in peril; Navy: We'll demand payment for remaining land
if housing goes above 700 units
By STEVE ADAMS and JEFFREY WHITE
The Patriot Ledger
WEYMOUTH - The Navy has done an about
face on the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station and now says it wants to be
paid for land it was long willing to give away.
The demand could delay for another two
years the development of the South Shore's biggest piece of vacant land and
jeopardize a deal between Tri-Town Development Corp., the local authority
overseeing the base, and lead developer Lennar Partners of Irvine, Calif.
The three communities in which the base
is located - Weymouth, Rockland and Abington - have been counting on a free
transfer of the roughly 1,400-acre property since 1999, when Congress passed a
law that made it easier for the military to get rid of old bases.
‘‘This is very serious,'' Weymouth Mayor
David Madden said. ‘‘Tri-Town and the Navy have worked in good faith for the
last five years to move this project forward. Everybody had their eyes open.
Now, at the 11th hour, the Navy has gone and changed the game.''
The Navy transferred 549 acres of base
land to Tri-Town last spring at no cost. Since then, the two sides have been
negotiating the terms on another 835 acres.
The Navy is now balking at giving that
land up because local officials in recent months have made it clear that they
intend to change a base re-use plan that the three towns approved in 1998, but
rejected two years later.
The changes will likely include more
housing than the communities initially approved, though an exact number has not
been released. The extra housing would reduce the space available for commercial
development and would change the Navy's assumptions about how many jobs would be
created at the base - a key requirement for a free transfer.
Lennar wants to build housing and retail
and manufacturing space on the property. A deal to build a Mills Corp. megamall
at the base fell apart in 2000, but the zoning tailored for that plan remains in
effect.
The existing zoning allows only 700
units of senior citizen housing. But now, Tri-Town officials say the number of
housing units built there could be in the thousands.
In a May 4 letter to Tri-Town obtained
by The Patriot Ledger, Lt. Cmdr. David Drozd said the Navy would demand payment
for the remaining land if the amount of housing goes above 700 units.
In addition, the Navy might demand a new
reuse plan for the base before it transfers the land.
Madden predicted the Navy's new demands
could delay the development by another 18 months. The base closed in 1997 and
little has gone on there since.
‘‘Extreme delays would be problematic,''
David Hall, project manager with Lennar, said. ‘‘But we're confident it's going
to be resolved quickly.''
Congress approved so-called ‘‘no-cost
transfers'' in 1999 as an incentive for communities to approve reuse plans for
old military land that create jobs. The original re-use plan for the base would
have created nearly 9,000 jobs, according to Navy-endorsed studies.
Navy officials first demanded answers
from Tri-Town in April after reading news reports about possible changes to the
reuse plan.
In an interview at the time, Tri-Town
Chairman John Rogers acknowledged the strategy was to take over the entire base
property before discussing the new plan publicly.
Lennar executives have said they will
propose a mix of single-family homes, apartments and condominiums, as well as
pharmaceutical manufacturing. They intend to bring the proposed changes to the
three towns for votes next spring.
But, in its letter, Drozd said the free
land transfer was based upon Tri-Town's past projections of the jobs that would
be created by the megamall plan.
Drozd was traveling yesterday and not
available for comment. But a Navy spokesman confirmed that the transfer could be
in jeopardy.
‘‘To maintain a no-cost (land transfer),
we still stand by the 700 senior housing units (as the maximum),'' Lt. Tommy
Crosby said.
The Navy's letter to Tri-Town was dated
a day before Tri-Town's directors voted to sign a business development agreement
with Lennar.
Beth Mitchell, a lawyer who represents
Tri-Town, said she did not know if Tri-Town received the letter before taking
the vote. Mitchell, who declined to comment on the Navy's latest demands, said
the authority is ‘‘doing everything it can'' to protect the three towns'
interests.
Michael Smart, a Weymouth town
councilor, said he is concerned that a new redevelopment plan will be pushed
through in a hurry to meet the Navy's demands.
‘‘The Navy should have come forward two
years ago and said maybe we should look at a new re-use plan if the mall is not
going to be there,'' Smart said.
Madden sent a letter on June 1 to
Douglas Foy, Gov. Mitt Romney's chief of commonwealth development, asking Foy to
intervene in the dispute. Foy has been a vocal advocate of a plan for
high-density, residential development at the base.
Phil Hailer, Foy's spokesman, said the
Romney administration is aware of the dispute. ‘‘They take this situation very
seriously,'' Hailer said, ‘‘and want to help the mayor work on a satisfactory
resolution.''
Steve Adams may be reached at sadams@ledger.com.
Jeffrey White may be reached at jwhite@ledger.com
Copyright 2004 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Friday, June 11, 2004
May 7, 2004
Concerns over air base housing persist; Developer still mum on possibility of
plan for thousands of homes
By STEVE ADAMS
The Patriot Ledger
Local officials want assurances that a
California real estate developer will not be able to build a massive housing
project even if local voters say no to a new reuse plan for the former South
Weymouth Naval Air Station.
An agreement signed this week is
designed to speed up the transfer of more than 600 acres to Lennar Partners next
year.
Some officials are worried that Lennar
could file an application under the state's affordable-housing law, Chapter 40B,
and sidestep local concerns about thousands of new homes being built on the base
after the company takes ownership of the land.
‘‘I hope they don't go through the
entire process and then say, ‘We're going to turn around and do a 40B,'''
Weymouth District 6 Councilor Michael Smart said.
Smart asked Lennar executives about the
potential for a 40B application at a town council meeting on March 22. Although
Lennar representatives promised to provide a definitive answer, they have yet to
do it.
‘‘They still owe us the answer regarding
the legality on 40B and whether the possibility of that in their strategy
exists,'' Weymouth Town Council President Thomas Lacey said yesterday.
The development agreement signed
Wednesday calls for -the South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp. -to hand 659
acres of base land to Lennar within 90 days after Weymouth, Rockland and
Abington approve a reuse plan.
The former air base occupies more than
1,400 acres in the three towns and is the largest piece of developable land on
the South Shore.
But Smart, who represents South
Weymouth, said he is worried that after getting approval for a less
controversial plan than the one that included a massive mall, Lennar could file
a 40B application that would allow dense residential development.
Chapter 40B allows developers to build
residential projects that are denser than local zoning allows, provided that at
least 20 percent of the units would be sold or rented at below-market rates.
At forums last year, Lennar executives
said they wanted to add conventional housing to the reuse plan, which currently
only allows 700 units of senior housing.
David Hall, Lennar's project manager for
South Weymouth, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Lennar spokesman William Ryan said he
did not know if the 40B question had been researched. He called it ‘‘a pretty
complicated legal question.''
A redevelopment official downplayed the
likelihood of an adversarial relationship with Lennar emerging. The two sides
signed an agreement that commits them to a series of legal and financial
obligations over the next five years.
Daniel DeSantis, executive director of
Tri-Town, said Lennar wanted to secure its multi-million-dollar investment in
the base with a mortgage on 659 acres of prime land that is reserved for
economic development.
‘‘It was either give them the land now,
which it seems the communities didn't want, or have some other kind of
security,'' DeSantis said.
The agreement pledges the land as
collateral on a $15 million loan that Lennar is making to Tri-Town Corp. If the
Navy does not transfer all of the base land to Tri-Town by Aug. 1, 2005, Lennar
could begin foreclosure proceedings after 180 days, or by February 2006.
‘‘We're not even contemplating a
default, so I'm not thinking about that,'' DeSantis said of what Lennar could do
with the property if it took total control. ‘‘I'm going into this with good
faith and this is just a worst-case scenario.''
An article in some editions of
yesterday's Patriot Ledger incorrectly stated that Lennar could foreclose on the
property if the local towns do not approve a new reuse plan by Dec. 31, 2005. If
that happens, Lennar would only have the right to walk away from the project and
Tri-Town would still own the land.
Under the agreement, the two sides will
split the costs of redeveloping the base. Precise dollar amounts are not listed,
but the document is based upon the general principle that Tri-Town will pay for
the basics, such as building an east-west parkway across the property and
building a water and sewer system.
Lennar would build side streets and
other utilities and keep the proceeds from land sales. The new land owners,
either commercial developers or residential owners, would pay property taxes
that Tri-Town would pass on to the three towns.
Ryan said Lennar already has spent more
than $6.8 million planning a mixed-use development at the base, which closed in
1997.
Lennar executives say they will consider
what residents have to say before they, within a year, bring a proposal for a
mixed-use development to the three towns. At public forums, they have stressed
that the company will not push for a plan that is widely unpopular.
Lennar can cancel the agreement if the
towns have not approved a new reuse plan by Dec. 31, 2005. Tri-Town would not
have to make any more payments to the company and would reclaim ownership of the
659 acres.
Lacey said he was surprised at the
timeline, given earlier comments by Lennar executives.
‘‘When they spoke to (the council), they
spoke of a more aggressive timeline,'' he said. ‘‘It's interesting that it's
pushed out significantly, which hopefully does not create an opportunity for
inaccurate information and rumors to cause anxiety in the communities.''
When Lennar proposes the new plan,
‘‘we'll see whether they're serious about community involvement,'' Lacey added.
Rockland Selectman Larry Ryan said he is
confident that Tri-Town Chairman John Rogers, the town's appointee, has
negotiated a deal that will protect the town's interests.
Ryan said voters might be amenable to a
plan that includes conventional houses if Lennar could show that the
property-tax revenue would outweigh the costs to the towns.
Steve Adams may be reached at sadams@ledger.com.
Copyright 2004 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Friday, May 07, 2004
April 24, 2004
WALKING ON AIR: Development group plans treks around Weymouth base
By MARK FONTECCHIO
The Patriot Ledger
WEYMOUTH - For some, the former South
Weymouth Naval Air Station is tied to arrogance, land contamination and secrecy.
Alan S. Manoian wants to change the
perception of the area once called ‘‘The Great Meadow'' to one of history,
natural resources and openness. And he believes the first step toward the change
will happen next month.
Manoian is the planning and development
manager for the South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp., the public board
overseeing redevelopment of the 1,405-acre base located in Weymouth, Abington
and Rockland.
He, along with an environmental
consultant working for Tri-Town named Steven Ivas, is organizing public walking
tours of the base that will explore its history, culture, wildlife and, most
important for many, its future.
The first of the tours will be held next
Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.
‘‘Open the gauges. Drop the fences. Let
the people in,'' Manoian said. ‘‘It's really a big opportunity to get the public
out onto the base and to educate and enlighten people.''
Plans for the tour started about three
weeks ago, right around the time town officials and residents accused air base
officials of doing too much behind closed doors.
‘‘This is an indicator of them taking
seriously that this is a process that requires public input and open dialogue,''
said Thomas Lacey, Weymouth town council president.
The tours also come at a key time for
Tri-Town. The Navy is expected to hand over the remainder of the land on the
base to Tri-Town in the fall. Tri-Town, working with master developer Lennar
Partners, will then create a new reuse plan for the base that will likely
contain housing, commercial space and recreation areas.
Any new plan would have to be approved
by a two-thirds vote at town meetings in Abington and Rockland, and by the town
council in Weymouth.
The first redevelopment proposal, which
was approved in 1998 and killed in 2000, called for a megamall as the site's
centerpiece.
Manoian, a former urban planner in
Nashua, N.H., started working for Tri-Town in January and said it is about time
for the corporation to open the doors to residents and officials.
The tour will focus on a southern part
of the site in Rockland around Twin Ponds. Ivas, the environmental scientist,
will point out vernal pools and unique plant species such as Atlantic white
cedars and British soldiers, a bright red lichen.
Manoian will talk about the history of
the area dating back to the 1700s, when Columbian Square in Weymouth was opened,
up to the naval air base's operations and closing.
He'll discuss milestones and arguments
that residents had with the Navy regarding what would fly there, how Union
Street was split up and why the future of the base should incorporate its past.
‘‘We want to create a living
laboratory,'' Manoian said. ‘‘We think there's a lot of wisdom out there. There
are a lot of people fascinated by what's going on out here.''
Regarding residents' perception of the
former base, Manoian added: ‘‘I think in a lot of ways it will give people more
of a comfort zone.''
That goal formed quickly in the wake of
a tumultuous two weeks when officials in Weymouth, Rockland and Abington grilled
Tri-Town about what was going on at the base and why they weren't receiving
regular updates.
The storm started with a letter from
three Weymouth town councilors and a Rockland selectwoman in March demanding
that Tri-Town respond to rumors of redevelopment at the base.
The corporation went before all three
towns during public meetings to apologize for their lack of communication and
vowed to improve.
‘‘It's good to get the community
involved to see what the base looks like and what it might look like in the
future,'' said Weymouth Town Councilor Michael Smart, who wrote the harsh letter
to Tri-Town. ‘‘It's a great idea and I hope residents take full advantage of
it.''
Base tour
What: A public walking tour to
explore the wildlife and nature of the former South Weymouth Naval Air Stations
as well as a history of the base and discussions on what could go there in the
near future.
When and where: 10 a.m. to noon
Saturday, May 1. Tour to start at 223 Shea Memorial Drive.
What to bring: Water to drink and
waterproof shoes or boots. The tour will happen rain or shine.
Mark Fontecchio may be reached
at mfontecchio@ledger.com.
Copyright 2004 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Saturday, April 24, 2004
March 24, 2004
More updates on Tri-Town promised: Officials apologize to town council for lack
of information
By MARK FONTECCHIO
The Patriot Ledger
WEYMOUTH - Officials overseeing
development of the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station say they regret a
lack of communication with the towns they answer to and will work to improve it.
Over the past two weeks, local officials
in Weymouth, Rockland and Abington have expressed frustration at not getting
more frequent updates about the air base and not being able to answer to rumors
that residents ask them about.
The 1,450-acre World War II-era air base
is the largest undeveloped piece of land on the South Shore and, depending on
what is built there, could transform the region. Most of the base lies in
Weymouth, with portions in Abington and Rockland.
Representatives of South Shore Tri-Town
Development Corp., the public agency overseeing development, and Lennar
Partners, the California company that is developing the base, appeared before
the Weymouth Town Council last night.
‘‘I would like to apologize on behalf of
Tri-Town,'' said Robert Lundquist, a member of Tri-Town's board of directors.
‘‘It has been far too long since we've been before you.''
Town councilors preceded their questions
about development by venting their disappointment.
The uproar started about two weeks ago
when Weymouth Town Councilors Michael Smart, Paul Leary and Sue Kay - and
Rockland Selectman Mary Parsons wrote to Tri-Town demanding an explanation for
rumors of 3,000 or more units of housing being planned for the base, a deviation
from the 500 to 700 senior housing units spelled out in a 1998 reuse plan.
Development officials said a recent
marketing report by the Concord Group endorsed 2,400 residential units. They
concede that 700 units are unlikely but said a new reuse plan would be formed by
input from residents of the three towns, not from a marketing group.
Any new reuse plan must ultimately gain
approval from two-thirds of Abington's and Rockland's town meetings and
two-thirds of the Weymouth Town Council.
‘‘I would hope that the planning process
is not a reactive process but is a proactive process,'' said Daniel DeSantis,
Tri-Town's executive director.
David Hall, project manager for Lennar,
agreed. ‘‘It's up to us to prove it to you, or we get sent home,'' he said.
‘‘It's up to you and it's up to the community.''
Residents will have their chance in
coming months to tell Tri-Town and Lennar what they want to see at the base. The
two are working on a business agreement that will probably be finished in two
weeks and will detail the relationship between Tri-Town and Lennar, the
potential master developer of the base.
As of now, the Navy has transferred 549
acres of what it calls ‘‘clean'' land to Tri-Town. The Navy is scheduled to
transfer the remaining 800 acres to Tri-Town in September.
If the three towns agree on and pass a
new reuse plan, Tri-Town will transfer the land to Lennar to develop. Officials
hope that will happen by early next year.
In the meantime, Tri-Town and Lennar
will hold more forums on ‘‘smart growth,'' a concept that embraces development
with minimal infrastructure burden. During those forums, residents will have a
chance to voice their opinions on the best use for the property. The forums are
being scheduled for this spring and summer.
A new reuse plan will be created from
those forums as well as others that have taken place over the past year. Hall,
the Lennar project manager, said he expected to have something to present to the
three towns in late fall.
Mark Fontecchio may be reached
at mfontecchio@ledger.com.
Copyright 2004 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Wednesday, March 24, 2004
March 15, 2004
Air base rumors worry town boards; Early proposals include thousands of
residences
By FRED HANSON and JEFFREY WHITE
The Patriot Ledger
Redevelopment of the South Weymouth
Naval Air Station is likely to include thousands of new residences, officials of
the agency overseeing the project said yesterday.
Daniel DeSantis, executive director of
South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp., said a housing plan won't be complete
for months, but discussions with a developer are ongoing, and housing numbers of
between 1,000 and 3,000 have been put on the table.
‘‘Right now we are developing a scenario
where ... plans are being talked about that include a mix of housing,
commercial, industrial, residential uses and open space,'' DeSantis said last
night.
‘‘We've been all over the table. We've
been talking about 1,000 units, 2,000, 3,000 - all phased in over 15 to 20
years,'' he said.
Even at 1,000 units, it would be among
the largest projects on the South Shore. The 3,000-unit Pinehills development is
under way in Plymouth as is the 1,750-unit Linden Ponds project in Hingham.
Meanwhile, officials in Rockland and
Weymouth have written to DeSantis, complaining that local boards are being left
out of the planning.
But Robert Lundquist, a member of the
Tri-Town Board of Directors, and other Tri-Town officials stressed that
negotiations are still under way.
‘‘Residential is going to be part of it,
at what level we don't know yet. We don't have any number at this point. We
haven't sat down and put anything to paper,'' Lundquist said.
Added John Rogers of Rockland, chairman
of the Tri-Town board, ‘‘nothing has been etched in stone.''
The board is nearing agreement with
Lennar Partners of California on a development agreement that will cover the air
base project, Rogers said. The board is also working with the Navy on the
transfer of the remaining air base land, which is not expected to take place
until early September.
Rogers stressed that any revised plan
for the redevelopment of the base must be approved by all three towns before it
can go forward.
William Ryan, a spokesman for Lennar,
said reports of more than 4,000 units of housing being proposed for the base are
inaccurate.
The disposition and development
agreement spells what will happen once the Navy hands over the final 800 acres
of land to local control late this fall.
Tri-Town will take control of the land
and transfer it to Lennar in return for financial investment to keep Tri-Town
running.
In a letter to DeSantis dated Friday,
four Weymouth town councilors and Rockland Selectman Mary Parsons referred to
‘‘disturbing rumors'' that plans for the development ‘‘may include 3,000 or more
units of new housing, which represents a profound deviation from the master plan
approved by Weymouth, Rockland and Abington.''
Said Weymouth at-large Councilor Sue
Kay, ‘‘we haven't heard a thing.''
Kay was one of the councilors to sign
the letter. ‘‘As the legislative body in the town that would ultimately vote on
any changes to the plan, we want to know what they're proposing.''
Weymouth Town Council member Michael
Smart said that the council feels that it is not in the loop on many of the
things happening on the base. As an example, he said that a year into his tenure
as Tri-Town Executive Director, DeSantis has yet to formally meet with the town
council.
The letter, which calls for a meeting
between the council and tri-town and Lennar was also signed by Weymouth
councilors Paul Leary and Joseph Connolly.
Rogers said ‘‘it is too premature at
this time to get upset over a plan that hasn't materialized, a plan they will
have an opportunity to participate in and have final say.''
DeSantis denied that the town was not
being kept informed of where things stand and said that whenever any proposal is
reached, Weymouth, Abington and Rockland will have to sign off on it.
He said he didn't understand many of the
claims that Smart and other councilors made in their letter to Tri-Town. ‘‘
‘‘They're going to be involved in the
plan,'' DeSantis said of all communities. ‘‘They're going to be involved in the
planning process. This is not a top-down exercise, this is a bottom-up
exercise.''
Weymouth Mayor David Madden said that
talk of 3,000 or more housing units is ‘‘on an extreme high end, let's put it
that way. I've heard numbers closer to 2,400.''
Madden also said that the plan approved
in the late 1990s is still in effect, calling for a mix of office space, retail,
bio-medical research, a 150-room hotel and a golf course.
‘‘We have a plan in place that is the
basis of transferring the property from the Navy to Tri-Town,'' Madden said.
Rockland Selectmen Chairman Larry Ryan
said the plan being developed would represent ‘‘the first alternative plan''
since the failed plans for an outlet mall.
So far, the Rockland board wants more
information before making a decision on the plan.
‘‘We're going to have to discuss it
amongst ourselves and with the people of Rockland,'' Ryan said.
Abington Selectmen Chairman Kevin
Donovan said he's also been hearing the rumors. ‘‘There's a lot of unanswered
questions that need to be answered, but there's no need to push the panic button
right now,'' he said.
Rogers will meet with the Rockland
selectmen tonight, and Abington selectmen have requested a meeting on March 22
with base development representatives.
Fred Hanson may be reached at fhanson@ledger.com.
Jeffrey White may be reached at jwhite@ledger.com.
Copyright 2004 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Monday, March 15, 2004
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