Reviving Starland for a new generation
A longtime Hanover destination for family fun that has been looking a little worse for wear in recent years has a new owner, who says he has big plans to enhance the park’s offerings while adding two large facilities for indoor sports.
Norwell resident John Poirier, along with a group of local investors, recently closed a $2.7 million deal for Starland, a 30-acre amusement park on Route 53 just south of the sprawling Hanover Mall and a new Target outlet. The local businessman said he will begin securing permits for his plan Feb. 27, when the Hanover Planning Board begins its review.
“What we want is to have a nice location for the whole family to enjoy,’’ Poirier said in an interview. “When I moved here 16 years ago, I used to take my kids to Starland, and it had a really nice family atmosphere. We’ve seen it slowly go downhill.’’
The park was owned from the 1960s to 2002 by Robert Kilmain, and longtime area residents have fond memories of childhood visits.
“People would come from everywhere to go to Starland,’’ said Hanover native Judy Greco, who cochairs the town’s Historical Society. “We used to go there all the time when I was a kid, because we lived close enough to just cut through the woods.’’
Greco said Starland offered miniature golf and a driving range, batting cages, and an arcade full of games. It also boasted a snack bar that sold burgers and hotdogs, fried clams, pizza, and “all kinds of ice cream.’’
Amusement of this type was a rare find south of Boston 50 years ago, unless one went to Paragon Park on Hull’s Nantasket Beach.
“We used to pick up the golf balls on the driving range,’’ Greco said. “They would pay us a dollar for a garbage can full, and we thought that was pretty good.’’
Starland would periodically invite Red Sox players as guest instructors, Greco recalled. “We’d go into the batting cages, and a Red Sox player would show us how to bat,’’ she said, adding that it was pretty exciting stuff for a Hanover youth in the 1960s.
Other residents, like Lorraine Burgio, recall taking their children to Starland in more recent times. “When they were in their midteens, they would go to play minigolf and use the driving range,’’ Burgio said.
Kilmain sold Starland in 2002 to businessman Christopher Walsh, who was not able to keep the operation in the black. In 2006, Walsh put the driving range portion of the property up for sale, but had no takers. The entire site was put on the market about a year ago, but a local bank took the property before a buyer could be found.
Poirier worked out a deal with the bank to rent Starland last summer, and he kept the park open while he did some renovations. Poirier and his partners have now bought the property, and he said that in the next few months he will work his way through local permitting.
“The Town Hall has been outstanding so far,’’ he said.
His proposal calls for renovating the existing Starland Recreation Center and adding an 18,600-square-foot building for indoor games, a snack bar, and offices. The driving range would be replaced by two 140-by-420-foot athletic buildings for indoor soccer, lacrosse, and basketball. The plan submitted to the town calls for two air-supported domes, but Poirier said they may be replaced with steel buildings.
“We’re still looking at different options,’’ he said. “The height for the domes will require a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals, but we may not need that if we change to other structures. Our plan will be ready to present at the meeting with the Planning Board of Feb. 27.’’
The old gas-powered go-karts will be replaced with electric models when Starland opens for the season in April, according to its Facebook page.
Assistant Town Planner Margaret Hoffman called Poirier’s vision “a good reuse of the property.’’
To date, public reaction has been positive.
“We’ve gotten feedback from residents, and they say they’re excited about it,’’ Hoffman said.
But there may be some concern among officials over snow load, if the plan to use inflated domes remains unchanged.
“I know domes are used in other parts of the country, but I’m not sure about this area,’’ Hoffman said. “I think it will take us a little time to go through this.’’
Greco said she is among those who want to see the park restored and to once again flourish, if it will benefit the town.
“I’d rather see it as a park than as another housing development,’’ she said.
The Planning Board will meet to review Poirier’s proposal at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27 in the second-floor hearing room at Town Hall.
Christine Legere can be reached at christinelegere@yahoo.com. 
