New Boston Development, the development arm of Boston-based New Boston Fund, and Quonset Development Corp. released preliminary plans for the project's first phase, the Shops at Quonset Point, which will create a 100,000-sf hotel along with a visitor's center, and 200,000 sf of retail space that will include a grocery store, restaurants, bank and two anchor stores. All will be set in a pedestrian friendly atmosphere on the site of the former Quonset Naval Air Station.
The design will incorporate the use of recycled materials, permeable pavement, and other low impact strategies and will evoke elements of the industrial park's past as a US Navy base and former home of the Navy Seabees. "This will be a fantastic gateway for the Quonset Business Park. Not only will the Shops at Quonset Point reflect this area's proud history, but it will serve as a model for other developers who wish to incorporate sustainable elements in their projects," Gov. Donald L. Carcieri says in a statement.
Tim Chamberlain, director of development for New Boston Development Partners, tells GlobeSt.com that the project, which should be completed in the next five to seven years once construction gets under way, will eventually include an office and R&D component.
"We're very close to finalizing two anchors right now," Chamberlain says, adding that leases are expected to be signed for about 70% of the retail space within the next 60 days. Primary equity funding for the venture, known as the Gateway Project at Quonset Business Park, will be done though New Boston Fund's Urban Strategy America Fund. The fund is designed to create housing, jobs and amenities in areas in need of economic revitalization.
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