Mills Corp., based in Arlington, VA and Melrose, MA-based Gator Development had put forth a proposal to develop a shopping mall on a 70-acre parcel right near the former Rocco's landfill. According to Tewksbury town manager David Cressman, the developers were looking to build a mall between 750,000 to 900,000 sf. The parcel, currently owned by the Perkins Family Trust, is zoned for residential use and would require rezoning for the project to go forward. The proposed zoning article was supposed to be presented at an upcoming Town Meeting but the developers withdrew the article.

"The Selectmen said they were moving too fast," notes Cressman. "They wanted them to talk to the neighbors." The town representative says that abutters to the site objected to a commercial use of the property. "They want it to remain residential," she says, noting that the residents have concerns about traffic and density. The developers, she adds, "thought they would work more with the community before requesting a rezoning."

This is Mills' second recent attempt at developing a mall in the New England region. The company suffered a defeat after the South Shore Tri-town Development Corp. terminated its agreement to sell the company a 155-acre parcel in a former naval facility in Weymouth for a planned $250-million complex. At the time, Tri-Town cited permitting and environmental concerns as reasons for backing out of the agreement.

Calls to both Mills and Gator were not returned by presstime but the town representative points out that the developers maintain that they would need to build an access ramp off Route 93 to make the project feasible. "They say they couldn't go forward without the exit ramp," she says. Cressman points out that an exit ramp would require state and federal approval and would cost about $17 million to build. He adds that it is still unclear who would foot that bill but he says that the Wyeth Institute which is located right near the site of the proposed mall is also interested in seeing a ramp on that side of the highway.

Cressman says that the developers are in the process of having "conversations" with the abutters to the site. As to the rezoning article, he says that he was "hoping to have something already but I haven't seen it."

Instant Insights /

Developers Withdraw Plans for 900,000-SF Mall

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