Update on Polaroid site

Developer Sam Park, the principal of Sam Park & Co., was at the former Polaroid site Thursday to brief the community on the start of his transformation of the 120-acre site into a retail and office space development. Park said in an interview that all the cleanup work has been completed and that the relocation of NStar transmission lines has just begun. This project, which could take up to a year, will move the transmission lines that run along Route 128 further into the property, allowing more options for traffic mitigation measures. Park said conceptual plans for the project’s first phase will be completed within the next couple of weeks, and will be presented to city officials, local groups, and the public next month and in October. He said the plan for the first phase is to have about 160,000 square feet of retail space and 120,000 square feet of office space completed by 2013. The entire project will include about 750,000 square feet of mixed-use retail space and 500,000 square feet of office space, he said.