Anti-mall group meets tonight

By ASHLEY SMITH, Telegraph Staff

Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007

HUDSON – Wintry weather won’t stop Hudson residents concerned about the pace of development in town, particularly a proposal to build the largest shopping center in New England at Green Meadow Golf Club, from meeting for the first time tonight.

As long as roads are passable and safe, the meeting will take place as scheduled at 7 p.m. in the Ann Seabury Community Room at the Hudson police station, said Ron Peters, head of the newly formed Hudson Grassroots Coalition.

“We’re going to go for it. I’m that kind of guy; I don’t chicken out because of a snowstorm,” Peters said. “I’ve got to meet my group.”

The coalition, an e-mail network of more than 80 people, recently launched a Stop Riverplace Web site in opposition to a proposal by W/S Development Inc. of Chestnut Hill, Mass., to build a mixed-use development with more than 2 million square feet of retail on the 375-acre golf club site.

According to Peters, the group is also concerned about other development in town. A 20-store strip mall is already under construction on Lowell Road and plans are in the works for a larger one just down the road, across from the Green Meadow site.

Also attending the meeting will be members of a group that formerly called itself Friends of Green Meadow, made up of people who live near the golf course.

Although most in attendance probably will oppose Riverplace, supporters are also welcome, Kathy Leary, a golf course neighbor, said last week.

If Hudson approves the Riverplace plan, a process that could take a year or more, the development would resemble a city in itself.

The first phase is a 1.1-million-square-foot open-air shopping, dining and entertainment plaza called a lifestyle center. A hotel and conference center, an office park, 600 apartments or condos, an outdoor amphitheater, a riverwalk and big-box retailers such as Target are planned for subsequent phases.

The lifestyle center would be modeled after a town square or downtown, with big sidewalks, outdoor entrances to shops and restaurants, a public ice-skating rink and an entertainment district with a 16-screen movie theater.

W/S submitted a site plan application for phase one Jan. 19, but was dealt a setback last week when the planning board voted unanimously to return the plan because it did not comply with a town ordinance. Any project that impacts wetlands must seek a wetlands special exception from the zoning board of adjustment before the planning board can begin its review.

The Green Meadow site borders the Merrimack River.

Riverplace is already generating a lot of talk in town.

Supporters say it will bring jobs and tax revenue into Hudson. W/S has estimated Riverplace would contribute about $5 million in annually to Hudson’s tax base at full build-out, after the cost of increased services such as police and fire calls are factored in.

Opponents say the project would add too much traffic to already congested roads and take away from Hudson’s small-town feel.

W/S is the development arm of S.R. Weiner, a well-known property management company in New England. The company has lifestyle centers throughout the region, but none in New Hampshire and none as large as the one proposed for Hudson.

According to Peters, tonight’s meeting is a chance for concerned citizens to get organized and hear what other people in Hudson have to say.

“Anybody who wants to say anything is welcome to stand up and say it,” Peters said.