Southfield

[smw2340]

New master planned community at the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station...

www.southfield.com

[smw2340]

Originally Posted by smw2340

New master planned community at the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station...

www.southfield.com

http://www.patriotledger.com/article...ews/news06.txt

Recent article I was trying to link to as well. Having trouble with the Ledger's website, so hopefully this link works....

[vanshnookenraggen]

Wow, that actually looks really nice. The renderings remind me of Celebration, FL or something.

Edit: Also, really good scale.

[czsz]

Multi-level townhomes, lofts and condominiums in the heart of the community are reminiscent of Boston's Back Bay. Oriented to streets and intimate pedestrian lanes, these special two- and three-bedroom homes will offer the energy and convenience of urban life with considerable amenities.

Can someone get them to help develop the Seaport?

[atlantaden]

Can someone get them to help develop the Seaport

Land prices on the Seaport are probably way too high to build single-family and townhomes even on zero line plots. Maybe Northpoint in Cambridge would be more feasible for this sort of development. This type of development (without the golf course) is springing up all over Atlanta and they're beautiful! Hopefully, people will realize that they don't need an acre of yard to be happy; that they can live in a really nice home/townhome without all the fuss of keeping up a yard. Instead they have a community pool/tennis courts/club house to hang out at. Van mentioned Celebration, the Disney development. It was started in 1994, other states have been doing this sort of thing for years! Massachusetts could use many more of this type of development though not lots of land left to build on and too many towns would fight it. Good for Weymouth...and for Westwood that's doing something similar though not as extensive.

[vanshnookenraggen]

Looking at the site plan again I was a bit chagrined to see that there were traditional office parks in the mix but then I found out that those only represent what is already there.

I do wish that the "town center" section would be closer to the train station, but perhaps that would allow unwanted people entering and lord knows we can't have that! :roll:

[smw2340]

They will have a free shuttle bus that will serve the Commuter Rail station, so access to the town center should be easy. And it looks like it would be just a short walk (less than 0.5 miles?) from the T Station.

http://www.southfield.com/MasterPlan.aspx?Goto=explore

[smw2340]

Progress being made on this project. Some photos on the website showing a few good pics...

http://southfield.com/ConstructionUpdate.aspx

[Ron Newman]

Does this new name, Southfield, indicate that the long-term plan is to break it off as a separate town (as may some day happen to Devens)?

[smw2340]

I don't think so. From what I've heard it'll be more of a section of Weymouth. Not sure if they are going to try and carve it out as its own municipality.

[Suffolk 83]

Moguls hot for studio site
Eye $200M complex at Weymouth air base
By Scott Van Voorhis
Sunday, February 24, 2008 - Updated 2h ago

The Bay State could take a major step toward becoming Hollywood East under a detailed proposal to build a $200 million movie production complex on the South Shore barely 10 miles from Boston.

Seeking to build political support and persuade the state to expand existing tax credits, a team of Hollywood film moguls is flying into the Hub this week for meetings with state lawmakers and the development firm that controls the former naval air station in South Weymouth, industry sources said. TV series, such as ?Boston Legal,? that now fly into Boston to shoot scenes, and then fly back to Los Angeles to do production work, could instead stay here year-round, pumping millions more into the local economy, said Earon.

?It could move all the TV series that are based here, but not shot here,? he said.



Principals from Culver City Studios, Ray Art Studios and Sunset Gower Studios will make the rounds, detailing Culver City?s plans to build a 30-acre campus- style studio complex complete with sound stages at the former military base. The plan is also expected to include a hotel and other development.

The construction of a major studio complex could put the state?s already fast-growing film industry into overdrive, experts say.

While more big-budget movies are being shot in Massachusetts due a landmark industry tax incentive bill passed in 2006, a studio complex could become a year-round hub for the film industry.

In fact, top Hollywood movie producers and actors, especially those with Boston ties, would likely move back to the area from Los Angeles if a studio complex were built here, argued William Earon, a managing director of Coastal Capital Partners and a key consultant and architect of the Bay State?s tax incentives for the film industry.

?If built, the studio will create thousands of high-paying jobs in the commonwealth in an industry that did not exist before,? Earon said. ?We will become the fourth film state in the country, behind California, New York and Louisiana.?

This week?s visit by the Hollywood heavy hitters, who have already been in talks with the land development company for months, is expected to give a major push to the South Weymouth proposal.

As they meet with lawmakers, the film chiefs are expected to push for passage of a key state proposal crucial to sealing the deal. The proposal, put forth by state Rep. Ronald Mariano (D-Quincy), chair of the House financial services committee, provides tens of millions in tax incentives for the construction of a studio complex.

The bill is not restricted to South Weymouth and, in fact, another group of filmmakers wants to build a studio complex in Plymouth. Plymouth Rock Studios, helmed by former Paramount Pictures executive David Kirkpatrick, is pursuing plans for a large-scale film studio and multimedia production campus on 1,000 acres of land owned in South Plymouth.

?We are hoping this will take off,? Mariano said. ?This is an opportunity to build an industry that doesn?t exist (here).?

Backers of the South Weymouth proposal note it has key advantages over the Plymouth proposal because of its proximity to Boston and Logan International Airport.

But not all the competition is local. Rhode Island lawmakers are eyeing their own package of tax incentives to spur the development of a film complex in that state. If the Ocean State passes its plan first, it could gain a crucial advantage, developers warn.

?I would like to see Massachusetts become the first New England state to build a major studio,? Earon said.

Massachusetts could transform its fledgling film business into a major industry if it succeeds in securing a major studio complex.

The studio complex could employ 1,200 to 1,500 technicians, producers, directors and other specialists, with salaries in the $75,000 to $150,000 range, industry experts said.

TV series, such as ?Boston Legal,? that now fly into Boston to shoot scenes, and then fly back to Los Angeles to do production work, could instead stay here year-round, pumping millions more into the local economy, said Earon.

?It could move all the TV series that are based here, but not shot here,? he said.

[Suffolk 83]

I thought the airbase already had a firm master plan? the area is huge so maybe this can be fit in?

one thing that pisses me off though is the democrat from Quincy pushing this.... just a couple years ago the Quincy Shipyard was up for sale, and from what I understand, a shipbuilding company and a movie production studio both outbid Quirk autos but Quirk still won... creating zero new jobs, can't help but think somebody got their palms greased there.

[12345]

You beat me to it, the surprising thing is there's another studio being planned in plymouth.

[czsz]

?We will become the fourth film state in the country, behind California, New York and Louisiana.?

Louisiana? What?

a shipbuilding company and a movie production studio both outbid Quirk autos but Quirk still won... creating zero new jobs, can't help but think somebody got their palms greased there.

Another well-connected provincial retarding this area's potential.

[briv]

I heard there are something like 20 major films currently under production in or around Boston. This along with these new studios being built hopefully helps grow a vital local film-making community.

[Ron Newman]

This is one of the industries our state should be aggressively pursuing, rather than casinos.

[daimio1]

why isn't the city of boston in on this one? last time i checked there was more then 30 acres of "empty" land sitting down on the waterfront. somewhere around d st and summer st look like a good location.

[czsz]

Movie studios aren't the most city-friendly uses - they contain a lot of big, blank walls and need acres of flat space. The convention center contributes enough of that to the SBW.

[smw2340]

[quote=Suffolk 83;46176]I thought the airbase already had a firm master plan? the area is huge so maybe this can be fit in?

The commercial aspect of the project is probably flexible to allow a certain amount office/commercial space. It says 2 million square feet, so they could probably fit the movie studio stuff within that.

[nico]

Figured Emerson would love to have a studio close by. What's going to replace the Bayside Expo Center?