Navy critical of plans for base
Delays prompt pointed inquiry
Frustrated by a lack of progress, the Navy is questioning the ability of the public agency overseeing redevelopment of the South Weymouth Naval Air Station to complete a deal to buy the air base and proceed with one of the state's largest building projects.
A top Navy official on Wednesday sent a terse e-mail to the head of South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp., a joint venture of Abington, Rockland, and Weymouth, admonishing the agency for failing to answer even basic questions about the status of the project, such as whether its partnership with a private developer of the base is still valid.
The Navy official also questioned whether Tri-Town has taken any meaningful steps to raise the $43 million necessary to purchase the remaining 900 acres from the Navy. Tri-Town has already missed a March 31 deadline to buy the land.
"The silence from your side of this deal is deafening," Gregory Preston, a Navy base closure manager, wrote in the e-mail, a copy of which was obtained by the Globe.
The Navy's impatience is yet another sign of disarray in the massive redevelopment, in which officials have proposed converting the base into a $1.5 billion minicity called SouthField, which would include more than 2,800 housing units, a golf course, a sports complex, and 2 million square feet of stores, offices, hotels, and possibly a movie studio.
In response to the Navy's criticism, Tri-Town Development Corp. blamed the delays on its private-sector development partner, LNR Property Corp., a Miami real estate firm known for building large housing communities across the country. And LNR, in turn, pointed the finger back at Tri-Town. Both essentially said the other has failed to do its share to move the project forward.
For example, Tri-Town said it has not tried to borrow money because it is unsure of LNR's financial viability. The builder would need to proceed with the development to generate money to repay the bonds, but in March a Wall Street credit agency placed LNR on negative credit watch, citing substantial losses on its investments in commercial debt.
"We have questions as to whether Tri-Town can sell bonds with LNR being the sole taxpayer" on the air base property, said Tri-Town chief executive Kevin Donovan.
LNR, meanwhile, said it has already spent $75 million on the redevelopment and intends to spend tens of millions of more in coming years. He also said LNR has given Tri-Town $11 million in recent years to help with its purchase of the remaining Navy land.
"The issue isn't whether LNR will be proceeding, the issue is whether we will be proceeding with Tri-Town," said William Ryan, a spokesman for LNR. "All the evidence points to the fact that we don't have a viable public partner."
The South Weymouth base is about 1,540 acres and LNR already owns about 540 acres, where it has cleared large tracts of land, built roads, and laid electric and sewer lines to support construction of about 500 homes and 150,000 square feet of commercial space.
However, the firm cannot proceed with work on the remaining land until the Navy's tract is purchased by Tri-Town. Under federal law, the Navy must sell its land to a public entity before it can be turned over to a private company for development. LNR bought the 540 acres it already owns from Tri-Town, which previously purchased it from the Navy.
The bickering between Tri-Town and LNR is threatening to scuttle the project altogether, said state Representative Ronald Mariano, a Quincy Democrat who has been a longtime supporter of the project.
"There has to be a significant change in the working relationship of the two parties if we are going to be successful," he said. "They have to get together in a room and come up with a plan that works."
Mariano is lobbying the Patrick administration for money for a $60 million road to connect the base to nearby commuting arteries. He said it's harder to make such a case when it's unclear if the development team can proceed with construction.
"As someone who wants to continue to put public money in this project, I'm going to be watching it carefully to make sure the state's investment is protected," Mariano said.
A spokeswoman for Governor Deval Patrick said the administration is now reevaluating its promise to provide $42.5 million in bonds to help pay for the road across the development site. Patrick spokeswoman Cyndi Roy said the administration must recalculate the amount that can be borrowed because of the declining real estate market, which will make it more difficult to generate income to pay off the bonds.
Roy affirmed, however, that the governor remains supportive of the base redevelopment and will even consider using federal stimulus money to help fill gaps in funding for the connector road. "We want to see the project move forward," she said. "We just need to make sure it does so in a way that's fiscally responsible."
Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com. 