Westwood Station gets state approval:
Construction could begin soon on 'town within a town'

by Steve Adams, The Patriot-Ledger
November 8, 2007

WESTWOOD - Construction could begin as soon as this month on Westwood Station, the biggest mixed-use development ever proposed in Massachusetts, now that the project has won a crucial state approval.

State Secretary of Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles on Friday approved a final environmental impact certificate for the 4.5-million-square-foot project.

The permit requires the developers to spend nearly $25 million on mitigation payments and $36.3 million on off-site infrastructure, including new exit ramps for Route 128.

Pending final approvals from the Westwood Planning Board, developers hope to break ground before Thanksgiving.

Developers envision a ''town-within-a-town'' at the 141-acre former University Avenue industrial park. Housing, shops, restaurants, hotels and offices are planned, with much of the project within walking distance of the Route 128 Amtrak and MBTA commuter rail station.

Jay Doherty, president of Boston-based developer Cabot, Cabot & Forbes of New England, said the retail space is the most sought-after component of the project. Nearly 90 percent of the retail space is leased or has some expression of interest from users, Doherty said.

''The real driver in terms of timing is the retail (component),'' Doherty said. ''The residential has to be built now. If we could defer it because of market conditions, we would, but it's being built now because it's part of a town center.''

The center will contain a mix of big box stores and an open-air lifestyle center with approximately 100 specialty retailers and restaurants, said Stephen Karp, CEO of Newton-based New England Development. The company is handling the retail space leasing for Westwood Station.

Confirmed retail tenants include Target, Eastern Mountain Sports, Eddie Bauer, Barnes & Noble, Coldwater Creek, Chico's, Talbots, J. Jill, Aeropostale and gourmet cooking supply retailer Sur La Table, Karp said.

Japanese steakhouse chain Benihana, which is replacing its 1960s-era look with a modern format at its new locations, will return to New England with a restaurant at Westwood Station. It also plans to open one of its RA Sushi Bar restaurants, a new concept with 15 locations nationwide.

Other restaurants will include McCormick & Schmick's Seafood, Columbus, Ohio-based Italian chain Brio, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, and Dartmouth-based casual dining chain Not Your Average's Joes.

''Most of these tenants aren't (yet) in the market, so there's a lot of new names,'' Karp said. ''We think it's a fantastic tenant mix across the board.''

With shops, residences and offices in close proximity, the plans reflect Gov. Deval Patrick's administration's support for ''smart growth'' land-use policies that seek to minimize dependence on cars.

Cabot, Cabot & Forbes is partnering with Commonfund Realty Inc. of Wilton, Conn., and New England Development on the $1.5 billion project.

The first phase of Westwood Station will consist of 495 condos built atop street-level retail shops, part of a 1.3-million-square-foot retail component.

Also approved in the first phase are a 328-room hotel and 125,000 square feet of office space. Doherty said the timing of those projects depends upon market conditions.

A Westwood town meeting vote in 2005 approved a new mixed-use zoning district for the area, which comprises more than 20 parcels acquired by the developers in recent years.

Eight of the nine remaining buildings on the site will be demolished as construction takes place over the next two years.

Officials from Canton, which will be home to only one acre of the project, voiced their displeasure with the state's approval.

''We are not pleased with the state's decision,'' Canton Selectmen Chairman Robert Burr said. ''It is irresponsible to put a project of this size in an area where the infrastructure cannot handle it. The administration is letting the development drive the policy.''