The determination was led by Middlesex Superior Court judge Julian T. Houston, who determined that developer Assembly Square LP, and Mystic View Task Force, a local activist group in opposition to the development, would not be able to come to terms on their own. The development entity is a joint venture of Taurus New England Investments Corp. and Gravestar Inc.

The suit, which was filed nearly a year and a half ago, sought to have the special permit rescinded. Both the city's planning board and the developer were named in the suit.

Bill Shelton, president of the task force, tells GlobeSt.com. that the developers would make no "meaningful" concessions on either point. He notes that they refused to move the truck docks off Middlesex Avenue but instead offered to build a screen to block its view from the street. He also points out that his group asked for a series of reductions on the store size and the number of parking spaces but that the amount the developer was willing to reduce the store--15,000 sf--was not enough.

"That land will always be more valuable to Home Depot as a parking lot," says Shelton. Home Depot has a 99-year lease on the property.

John Civilinski, director of planning and investment for Gravestar, refused to go into the details of the mediation withGlobeSt.com. "We in good faith tried to give some response," he did say, "but they made a series of requests that were beyond the scope of what we could accomplish."

For Civilinski, it is apparent that the group does not want the Home Depot on this site at all. "They said they were willing to negotiate on issues related to Home Depot, but the scope of the concessions they are requesting lead us to believe they just want to stop the Home Depot" from being built.

Instant Insights /

Mediation Fails in Home Depot Project Dispute; Case Heads to Court

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