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July 28, 2006 – Legislators often dream about landing a major project for their district that expands the local tax base, creates jobs, brings businesses closer to customers, and solves existing traffic problems. Senator Richard T. Moore (D-Uxbridge) and Representative Jennifer Callahan (D-Sutton), who represent Bellingham on Beacon Hill, are working hard on a project that would bring all these benefits to Bellingham and area towns.
The two lawmakers are the prime sponsors of a provision in a capital bond bill that would, if approved, provide $6.5 million for the state share of road improvements at the intersection of I-495 and Route 126 in Bellingham. The commercial development, known as The Shoppes at Bellingham, is planned for Bellingham’s golden triangle of three profitable shopping plazas. W/S Development, the project developers, stated that the project could be completed as early as 2008. The firm also developed the area’s three existing shopping centers.
The bond bill was approved in the House on Thursday evening, and could see Senate approval on Monday (July 31). “The Senate Ways and Means Committee has been especially supportive,” Senator Moore explained. “However, it’s not a slam dunk. We’re facing a very tight deadline for the bill since it needs to be approved before midnight on Monday, or state funding might not come until the next session,” Moore added. “We’ve got a long list of bills that need action before the end of formal sessions, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed and pulling out all the stops,” he noted.
The project will create a new section of Rte. 126, which would run from just west of the bridge over I-495, through one or two "modern roundabouts," and connecting to North Main Street near the new Jefferson at Bellingham condominiums.
Along with construction of what developers have called "the new (Rte.) 126," significant reconstruction and widening of the exit ramps on I-495 to access Rte. 126 are part of a $16 million roadway project to be undertaken by W/S Development and the Massachusetts Highway Department. Most of the state funding would be used for this part of the project work.
A new exit ramp onto I-495 North would be built from just east of the Rte. 126 bridge alongside the Wal-Mart store in the Stall Brook Shopping Plaza, thereby, eliminating the need for traffic to cross over Route 126 to reach the current northbound ramp.
Developers have forecast that the town would receive about $1.2 million in annual property tax revenue from the new development, along with $600,000 in one-time construction permit fees. In return for the state funding, state coffers can expect to receive over $6 million addition sales and income tax revenue once the project is fully operational.
"It’s not a mall, it’s an outdoor, pedestrian-friendly series of retail shops and restaurants," according to Robert Frazier, vice president of development for W/S Development Associates. It is to be built on land behind the Home Depot, the new development would offer 550,000 square feet of retail space. The combined total of the other three shopping centers in the area is about 675,000 square feet.
The development will be what’s known as a "lifestyle center," a new kind of retail development which creates the sense of a village of shops and possibly a performing arts stage, surrounded by parking for the development. The new retail center would include between 80 and 90 upscale shops.
Bellingham Selectmen, Planning Board, and Conservation Commission have all been reviewing the project for several months. Generally, local officials see the project as having many positive features for the town.
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