Westwood Station set to get state OK

Huge complex will boast residences, retail
by Thomas C. Palmer Jr, Globe Staff
November 2, 2007

The Patrick administration is expected to give its blessing today to the largest suburban development project ever in Massachusetts, the 4.5-million-square-foot Westwood Station.

The ambitious complex at the corner of Route 128 and Interstate 95 will include 1,000 residences, a hotel, up to 10 office buildings, and popular retailers Target, Eddie Bauer, Barnes & Noble, Coldwater Creek, Chico's, Talbot's, J.Jill, and Aeropostale, according to the developers.

Restaurants will include McCormick & Schmick's Seafood, Italian fare from Brio, a new Japanese concept by Benihana, California Pizza Kitchen, Fleming's steak house, RA Sushi, and the locally based Not Your Average Joe's.

Although some traffic and other issues remain to be worked out, Dan O'Connell, state secretary of Housing and Economic Development, said the issuance of a key environmental certificate "marks another step forward . . . but does so in a way which insures that the project will be accompanied by appropriate mitigation including significant transportation upgrades."

Ramps will be reconfigured at the developer's expense along Route 128 and I-95.

Westwood Station is also considered a so-called transit-oriented project because it is a compact, dense development that takes advantage of its proximity to a major transportation hub - the MBTA's 128 Station, with commuter rail and Amtrak service.

The office of Ian Bowles, secretary of energy and environmental affairs, said it could not confirm that the project will be approved, but executives on the development team said they expected a positive outcome.

Developer John J. Doherty, the president of Cabot Cabot & Forbes of New England Inc., said yesterday the years of planning to turn the 140-acre former industrial property into a lively 21st-century suburban village are nearly over.

One more comprehensive permit from the town of Westwood is expected by Thanksgiving, and then construction on a retail town center with three floors of condominium residences above can begin, he said.

Added Stephen Karp, the president of New England Development, which is handling the 1.3-million-square-foot retail element of Westwood Station: "It's a really great tenant mix, driven by all the great restaurants. We don't think there's anything like this in this part of the country, certainly of this scale."

Doherty said his company, along with partners Commonfund Realty Inc., and New England Development, are getting tax forgiveness from the town of about $20 million over 20 years to help offset the approximately $140 million in road, sewer, and other improvements they will make over the next two years.

The total development cost is expected to be about $1.5 billion over a decade. At full build, Westwood Station will pay about $15 million a year in taxes to Westwood, up from the $1.1 million the land is generating now.

The developers will demolish 1.2 million square feet of existing industrial and office buildings in about six months.

In their place will be: an eight-building town center with condos over retail stores; five more residential buildings as high as 10 floors each; nine office buildings ranging from 125,000 to 200,000 square feet each; eight parking garages with 12,500 spaces; and a Commons, a green space called "The Meadows," and other public areas totaling more than 40 acres.

The development will have direct access to the 128 Station platforms. University Avenue, now a straight-arrow road, will be replaced with a curved Westwood Station Boulevard.

Westwood Station's developers are aiming for a designation for environmentally friendly design and construction from the US Green Building Council, an influential industry group. Located on the site of four groundwater wells for Dedham and Westwood, the development will collect water from roofs and other surfaces to recharge the aquifer, and reuse some for irrigation.

Thomas C. Palmer Jr. can be reached at tpalmer@globe.com.