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HUDSON – As the town begins its review of development plans for
Green Meadow Golf Club, a coalition of private citizens is forming to
fight not only that plan, but also all potential retail development in
the south end of town.
Similar groups have formed in a number of New England towns in which W/S Development Inc. has proposed lifestyle centers – open-air shopping and dining plazas modeled after traditional downtowns. In Reading, Mass., a proposal to build a lifestyle center pitted residents against one another, town planner Chris Reilly said. A group sprang up in support of the project, in addition to one opposed. That plan is in limbo now. In Hudson, Ron Peters, 75, who lives in the north end of town, formed the coalition by appealing to other Hudson residents with letters to the editor in various publications. Peters said about 50 have responded so far. Peters said early ideas about how to stop the project include: circulating petitions, bringing the project to a Town Meeting vote and finding a way to raise impact fees high enough to convince the developer to walk away. “All 50 of us have our eyes on the fire,” Peters said. “All of us are like bulldogs hanging onto a stick. None of us is going to let go.”Green Meadow, called Riverplace, would include approximately 2 million square feet of retail space, including a more than 1 million-square-foot shopping, dining and entertainment plaza. In terms of retail space, no center in New England is larger. Earlier this month, W/S submitted a site plan application to Hudson for phase one of construction – the lifestyle center. Phase two would include 600 apartments or condos, a hotel, an office park and more retail. Peters and others who oppose the mall plan are mostly concerned about increased traffic on already congested roads and the impact of such a large development on Hudson’s small town character, according to several accounts. The Riverplace project manager at W/S, Ed Vydra, said those concerns are legitimate. The company typically locates retail centers where there’s a proven flow of traffic, Vydra said. For an opponent, that can be the problem, he said. “There are going to be opponents. But we also believe there are a number of supporters,” Vydra said. Jennifer Varney, 37, a marketing specialist, said she got involved with Peters’ coalition – which has yet to meet in person, but communicates by phone and e-mail – because of traffic congestion on Lowell Road. Varney’s opposition to development has more to do with the much smaller retail center Massachusetts developer Atlantic Tambone hopes to build across the street from Green Meadow. At 66,000 square feet with 12 stores and a restaurant, the plaza would be a fraction of the size of Riverplace. At this point, neither plan has approval from the Hudson Planning Board. Varney rents a home on Lowell Road that would be leveled to make room for the plaza, but said her concern is more about traffic than finding a new place to live. The Sagamore Bridge, which carries traffic to Lowell Road from Nashua, is already backed up during the week, Varney said. Varney also doesn’t want another traffic light installed on Lowell Road, as would be the case if the smaller center were built, she said. Last week, Varney and Peters sent letters to the state Department of Transportation about their traffic concerns for the south end of Hudson. The transportation department employee who is reviewing the Green Meadow plan, Bureau of Highway Design Administrator Craig Green, could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon. Aside from those who oppose the plan, Peters said he’s also heard from two people who support Riverplace. Peters said one thought the project would be good for the town and the other asked what kind of hidden agenda he had. But Chris Brown, 36, a gasoline tank driver who lives near Baker Street in Hudson, said he doesn’t know anyone who supports the plan. Brown hasn’t formally joined the coalition, but said he’s thought about calling Peters. Brown said if Green Meadow has to be developed, he would rather see something built that produces higher paying jobs than retail so Hudson residents wouldn’t have to go to Massachusetts to find work. Going that route would also produce less traffic, Brown said.
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