This is the development of the former south weymouth airbase.
The N0. 1 PROJECT: Air base construction has begun, and it?ll likely change the South Shore forever
By JACK ENCARNACAO
The Patriot Ledger
The only things that interrupt the empty horizon near the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station?s runways are a few piles of concrete chunks and gravel.
It has been 10 years since the Navy left the base, but only in recent months have there been visible signs of redevelopment. Earth is being excavated, stone walls are being built, sidewalks and lampposts are being installed.
LNR Property Corp.?s vision for SouthField, the name LNR has chosen for what will eventually be a village complex of homes and businesses, is coming closer to reality every day.
As it does, there are renewed concerns among residents about how SouthField will fit in with communities that surround it, Weymouth, Rockland and Abington.
??The project?s going on, everybody?s talking about it, they've got an ostentatious presentation,?? said Edward MacDonald, a Weymouth resident and retired letter carrier who used to deliver mail to the base. ??(But) I think it?s overbearing. I don?t see how we?re going to be able to live with it, the (size) of it.??
Those involved with the project say 2007 could easily be viewed as a pivotal year in the transformation of the base from a barren expanse to a new community.
LNR says it needs 10 more years to complete construction of SouthField, which will include 2,855 homes and condos, 2 million square feet of commercial space, a golf course, a 48-acre sports and recreation center and several parks.
Starts and stops
After years of starts and stops in the redevelopment - a megamall was once planned for the area - those involved with the project say a corner has been turned and, from here, development will accelerate.
That would be a welcome change, officials say.
??I think we all would have envisioned we would be much further along than we are at this point,?? said Weymouth Mayor David Madden, who came out against a plan to build a megamall on the base after he was elected in 1999.
James Lavin, chairman of the board of directors for the base overseer, South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp., said people see work going on, but with so many changes over the years, they are unclear about what it is.
??You?ve got two different approaches now around town,?? said Lavin, of Abington. ??You?ll get somebody saying, ?When is the first building going up??
??Other people look at you and say, ?Gee, is that mall still going through or is it something else?? But both parties are aware there?s a happening down the street, that's for sure,?? he said.
The Navy has said changes to the plans, particularly the addition of thousands of residences, are the reasons development has been delayed.
So, when will SouthField become a place, rather than just a name?
The project still has one big hurdle to cross. It?s the same hurdle that has been there since the beginning: to get 835 acres of the base land out of the Navy?s hands and into LNR?s.
State Rep. Ronald Mariano, D-Quincy, who has been involved with the base redevelopment for more than a decade, said much still remains to be seen.
??Once LNR has control of the property from the Navy, and they can agree on a price, this thing should begin to take off,?? Mariano said. ??Until that happens, I?m not going to get too excited.??
LNR has said an agreement should be in place for the land by the end of the summer.
Market cycles a factor
But one question looms: Once LNR gets all the land and starts building, will the real estate market have recovered from the current slump, or will the situation be worse?
??It?s a risky business. You are very susceptible to market cycles,?? said Kevin Chase, LNR?s director of development. ??The old rule of thumb is (the real estate market) goes in eight- to 10-year cycles. This is a 10-year project. If you look at a 10-year market cycle, I think we?re in pretty good shape.??
Chase said LNR has courted 800,000 square feet of commercial interest in SouthField but has not finalized any agreements.
Peter Foreman, president of the South Shore Chamber of Commerce, said there is interest in the project among businesses looking to relocate to the area.
??This is the one project that is most likely to change the entire South Shore,?? he said. ??There are so many road networks that come into here. The spinoff of businesses outside the base is going to be profound.??
A SouthField that is 100 percent occupied may generate tax revenue for Weymouth, Rockland and Abington, but incorporating itself into the area will take more than that, said Neal Pierce, author of ??Citistates: How Urban America Can Prosper in a Competitive World.??
Pierce said the real test for a development like SouthField is how well the development and its 7,000 residents blend in.
??The most progressive thought is ... you want the new community to fit in with the communities around it,?? he said. It?s important that SouthField not become a gated community, which would set it apart from neighbors, he said.
There are no plans for SouthField to become an incorporated town. But it will likely have new ZIP codes, and possibly its own school and public safety building.
Before any of that can be built, a sizable amount of cleaning must be done.
When the base was closed, it had some 30 documented sites of various levels of contamination, including 11 Superfund sites, the result of years of Navy use. Some, including five Superfund sites, have been fixed with the $50 million the Navy has spent on cleanup of the base.
??The Navy always has and will continue to complete all environmental cleanup required by applicable law,?? said Gregory Preston, a base closure manager for the Navy.
Base officials have pledged repeatedly to not build anything on contaminated land. But as the redevelopment of Fort Devens airfield in Ayer shows, it?s not always clear where contamination may lurk.
Officials there thought all Army-related contamination was gone when they began demolishing, but found pesticides in old Army housing complicating their building plans. It was cleaned up.
Injunction failed
Cleanup was a central part of an injunction sought last year by 10 Weymouth residents who wanted to halt development until a more thorough accounting of contamination had been completed. The request was dismissed in court.
Dominic Galluzzo, one of the people behind the injunction, said residents need more information on which contractors and developers are working on the base and how they will handle contamination issues.
??We don?t know how qualified these people are,?? he said.
Jack Encarnacao may be reached at
jencarnacao@ledger.com .
Copyright 2007 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Saturday, May 05, 2007
http://www.patriotledger.com/articles/2007/05/05/news/news02.txt
