Developer Eyes Milton for 133,000-SF Retail and Office Complex

MILTON, MA-A local developer is planning to build a 133,000-sf upscale shopping center and office complex that will be the largest development of its kind in this suburb on Boston's fringes in more than 10 years.

Developer Christopher Quincy's plans call for the complex, to be known as Milton Centre, to be built on an eight-acre Randolph Street parcel that currently serves as home to the town's Department of Public Works facility. An additional eight acres surrounding that facility, which Quincy recently purchased from private owners, would be included in the development.

The project, which still needs town approval, calls for five two-story buildings filled with upscale stores and restaurants along with a supermarket and second-floor office space, all designed to resemble a traditional New England town common. Plans call for the buildings to be centered around a crescent-shaped "village green" with parking located to the rear of the structures.

The development, to be located near Randolph Avenue and Reedsdale Road, would be the largest retail development in Milton, including Milton Marketplace, a Bassett Street shopping center that most recently was renovated in 1994, according to town administrator David Colton.

In exchange for the town-owned acreage, Quincy would trade a five acres of land located across the street and build the town a new $2.5-million public works complex.

But there are still some snags to overcome. The proposal would require the town's selectmen to put out a request for proposals that would be open to all bidders. Milton selectmen will decide on that issue within the next few weeks. The project also has to overcome a zoning hurdle that would require the land to be changed from residential to commercial use.

But Quincy's plan has one big advantage. Town officials estimate that the complex would increase the town's commercial tax base by 27.7% and yield an additional $500,000 in commercial taxes.