Almost three years ago, the VA-based Mill's tried to get a 1.1 million sf $250 million retail and entertainment center built at the former naval air station in South Weymouth, but the project was rejected. If approved, this mall, which could range from 750,000 sf to one million sf, would be the largest retail development in the area.
David Cressman, Tewksbury's town manager, tells GlobeSt.com that the town has already created a committee to examine the proposed project and make a recommendation about whether to call a special town meeting on the project. The property would need to be rezoned from its current single family residential designation in order for the development to move forward.
But that is not the project's only potential problem. One of the town's selectman and a number of residents insist that someone else holds title to some of the property in the parcel. Cressman confirms that the issue has been brought up and is being looked into by the town but he declined to comment on the motives of those who brought the subject up. He does say that there has been some opposition to a retail project being developed at this site.
"We've been assured that the title is valid and that the seller has a valid claim on the property," David Douglass, a spokesperson for Mills, tells GlobeSt.com.
The project is also complicated by the fact there is currently no exit off Route 93 to this property and in order for the mall to succeed an interchange at the site would most likely be necessary. The company would need state and federal approval for that.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
