Revitalizing a neighborhood

Shopping center to rise from old mill

Demolition is nearly complete at the site of the former Bay State Paper plant along River Street in Hyde Park. (George Rizer/Globe staff)

A longstanding blight on a Boston neighborhood and a symbol of a vanished manufacturing industry will soon be turned into a shopping center.

A Burlington developer is demolishing the former Bay State Paper plant on River Street in Hyde Park near Mattapan before starting construction next month on a suburban-style shopping center overlooking the Neponset River.

"It is going to be a major factor in revitalizing the neighborhood," said Boston City Councilor Rob Consalvo, who represents the area. "Both Hyde Park and Mattapan can use this kind of economic activity. It is going to bring jobs."

The Shops at Riverwood will replace what had been considered by some historians to be the oldest paper mill in North America. Chartered in 1728 by the King of England, the manufacturing plant fell into decline in the 1980s and closed permanently in 2004.

Finard Properties plans a 106,000-square-foot shopping center anchored by PriceRite, a Connecticut-based grocery chain opening its first Boston store.

The center also will have a bank, wine shop, and other stores, which probably will include a pharmacy and two restaurants, according to Todd Finard, partner in Finard Properties and manager of the Hyde Park project.

Another developer is planning a condominium project on the 3 1/3 acres of the mill property on the Milton side of the Neponset River.

For years, the paper mill was Hyde Park's largest private employer.

In the long struggle to keep it operating, the City of Boston in 1990 issued $37.5 million in tax-exempt bonds and wrote off several million dollars of water and sewer bills. But despite the subsidies, the plant could not compete in the global paper industry.

Two different owners filed for bankruptcy, and the sprawling brick mill complex set on 13 acres that span the Boston-Milton line was sold to developers in a 2005 auction.

The shopping area's design is similar to the open air lifestyle centers that have been sprouting in upscale suburbs. The development, scheduled to open sometime next year, will feature several free-standing buildings with landscaping, pedestrian friendly streetscapes, and outdoor dining, according to the developer's plans.

A brick building that housed a power station and has a prominent smokestack will be preserved, according to Todd Finard. He said the building probably will be converted into a restaurant overlooking the river.

Local activists and city officials have lauded the project, which they say will act as an economic boost to the area, provide a much needed shopping venue, and wipe away a scar on the neighborhood.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he is pleased the developer has included a community meeting room in one building in the project.

Mukiya Baker-Gomez, president of the Belnel Family Neighborhood Association, praised the project's design. "The variety of shopping opportunities will be a good thing for the neighborhood." She did, however, voice some concerns about added traffic on River Street.

The development, which is about halfway between Mattapan Square and Cleary Square in Hyde Park, will draw from mostly minority communities.

The area can support new stores, according to Finard. "All of the large retailers moved out to the new shopping centers in the suburbs a long time ago," he said. "Large parts of Hyde Park and Mattapan are underserved by retail now."

The mill was once part of a cluster of water-powered mills on the Neponset River in Dorchester, Hyde Park, Mattapan, and Milton.

In the 20th century, manufacturers began shifting their operations elsewhere, and all of the factories on the lower Neponset eventually closed except for the paper mill.

The plant was converted to a recycling facility in 1990, but it struggled amid the economic downturn that followed the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Rising costs of fuel and paper fiber also contributed to the plant's woes. About 80 employees lost their jobs when it closed in April 2004.

Robert Preer can be reached at preer@globe.com.