Officials keeping tabs on University Station project

On February 28, around the time that Canton residents will be reading the details of the Plymouth Rubber rezoning proposal, residents of neighboring Westwood will be asked to vote at a special town meeting on the future of Westwood Station, now renamed University Station.

Source: www.nedevelopment.com

Located on a 140-acre parcel along University Avenue on the Westwood-Canton border, the first phase of the scaled-down project calls for a mix of retail stores — including a Target department store and a Wegmans grocery store — and somewhere between 450 and 600 units of one- and two-bedroom housing.

For the project to go forward, two-thirds of Westwood voters must approve the proposed zoning change, which is being promoted by a team of developers headed by New England Development.

One of the region’s largest real estate development and management companies, New England Development recently purchased the Westwood property for $45 million from Cabot, Cabot & Forbes (CCF), another large developer and the architect behind the original Westwood Station concept.

Five years ago, CCF burst onto the scene with a proposal for a massive mixed-use development, which at its peak consisted of 1,000 residential units, hundreds of hotel rooms, and nearly 3 million square feet of office and retail space. The deal eventually fell apart when the developer was unable to obtain financing; however, for a three-year period it was the talk of the region among state lawmakers and fellow developers — not to mention the subject of a heated legal battle with the town of Canton over the project’s impact on traffic.

After a few years of contention between CCF and town officials, the two sides reached an agreement in 2010 in which the developer promised to reimburse the town for all money spent on legal fees and traffic studies — amounting to $1 million — and cooperate with the state transportation department on the construction of “critical infrastructure” on and around Dedham Street.

According to Selectmen Chairman Bob Burr, the agreement was never executed because CCF stopped the project. However, Burr said many of the town’s original concerns still apply to the current project, namely the potential impact to Canton roads and the uncertainty about the scope of the plans beyond the first phase.

Lately, town counsel Paul DeRensis and Lou Ross, as well as traffic consultant Gary McNaughton, have been attending the Westwood meetings to keep selectmen apprised of the project details. And while selectmen have yet to personally meet with representatives from New England Development, the new developer has agreed to finance a traffic study examining the project’s impact as well as the impact of a new exit ramp from I-95 northbound onto Dedham Street.

Burr said the state environmental office, to his knowledge, is also expected to review the latest project details and issue an analysis of the project.

Burr maintained that the town of Canton cannot stop development in Westwood; however, he said selectmen can and will reiterate their concerns to Westwood officials and the new development team. He added that the past agreement with CCF, although never executed, could serve as a template for a future agreement.

Furthermore, while the town was never reimbursed for its legal expenses, Burr believes the decision to bring CCF to court was the correct one.

“It stopped the project and I believe it was money well spent,” he said. “The strategy worked. It protected the quality of life in Canton.”

Burr said the board and town counsel will be closely monitoring the results of the Westwood town meeting and that Canton’s next steps will be predicated on the voters’ action and the reaction from the developer. “We will continue to fight for the town,” he said.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Feb 7 2013. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.