Real Estate

A South Weymouth Naval Air Station redevelopment plan is back in play

The proposal gives the 13 million square foot development a possible 8 million square feet of commercial space and 3,855 residential units.

By Linda Laban -- Realestate.boston.com correspondent

March 24, 2023

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The South Weymouth Naval Air Station is back in the news again. Developers’ proposal to turn the long-abandoned 1,450-acre base, which closed in 1995, into a mixed-use development laced with greenways, is now in play.

At a mid-March planning meeting, Brookfield Properties and New England Development — jointly operating as the master developer of the South Weymouth Naval Air Station project — presented an updated Land Use Redevelopment Plan for the base to the Southfield Redevelopment Authority (SRA).

The SRA board voted unanimously to endorse and approve the updated proposed plan. Most significantly, the Southfield Redevelopment Authority supported changes that would give the master development team flexibility to build more housing, or less, depending on market conditions.

The proposal gives the 13 million square foot development a possible 8 million square feet of commercial space and 3,855 residential units. The exact ratio between commercial and residential, however, will be determined by what is more financially viable as the plans proceed and building begins.

The proposal includes maintaining current “green” buffer zones and some interior greenspace. The abutting area developed around 2011, which brought 1,275 housing units to Southfield, will remain as is, according to this latest plan.

Brookfield Properties and New England Development’s proposal follows an ambitious one by LStar Ventures in 2015 to turn the site into a high-tech “smart city.”

However, within a couple of years, LStar’s plan devolved into a messy tangle of financial woes and lawsuits, and it was officially removed by the SRA, leaving the field wide open. In 2019, Brookfield Properties and New England Development stepped in.

The initial approval of Brookfield Properties and New England Development’s proposal is only a baby step in rehabilitating the deserted space, which will involve a years-long process.

Following an additional public meeting with the Weymouth Planning Board and Town Council, on March 29, the process moves to a zoning review with Weymouth in April. Then, town meetings with neighboring Rockland and Abington are due to take place this fall.

“This is the first step in a long process in which we will be working closely with town officials in Weymouth, Rockland and Abington,” John Twohig, New England Development’s executive vice president said in a statement sent via email.

More information on the project can be found at reimaginethebase.com.