Golfers, critics celebrate Riverplace’s demise

By ASHLEY SMITH, Telegraph Staff

Published: Thursday, May. 17, 2007

HUDSON – When Ron Peters heard the news Wednesday that Riverplace plans had been withdrawn, the Hudson real estate agent sent an e-mail to fellow opponents saying he was so excited that the buttons were popping off his shirt.

• Peters is the founder of Hudson Grassroots Central, an organization launched last year to fight the massive development.

Despite having all their buttons intact, plenty of golfers at Green Meadow that afternoon shared Peters’ enthusiasm.

“That’s fantastic,” Linda Thorp, also of Hudson, said upon learning that W/S Development Inc. had withdrawn its plans. She had just finished a round of golf with two friends and was loading her clubs into the trunk.

“I’m sorry for the Friels, but I think it’s wonderful,” she said.

Green Meadow Golf Club is part of a golf course business begun by Phil Friel, a well-known New England golfer who played in seven national Professional Golf Association championships. Friel died in 1999, and his sons now run the company.

The Friels signed a purchase and sales agreement with W/S in 2005. But to the delight of Peters and others, that agreement was terminated this week.
Not everyone is celebrating, though.

Peters said his own daughter was a big proponent of the mixed-use development. Though she lives near the Green Meadow site and would have been affected by increased traffic, she was excited about the prospect of having an upscale shopping center right around the corner, he said.

Then there’s Kathy Kupchunas of Hudson who supported the development because of the work opportunities it would have brought to the people of Hudson – particularly teenagers.

“I’m kind of disappointed because I work at the Pheasant Lane Mall. I was hoping it would bring jobs to the area,” Kupchunas said as she was loading groceries into her car in the Market Basket parking lot in Hudson.

The Friels share in that disappointment, according to their attorney, Jay Leonard.
Kathy Leary of Hudson, who lives near the golf course on Par Lane, said she’s not surprised the deal fell through, just that the developer pulled out this early.

“In one sense I’m surprised because obviously they’re in business to make money, so I thought they would pursue it,” she said.

What happens next will be the interesting part, she said.

Leary added that she was never opposed to a development at the golf course but thought the massive Riverplace plan was just too much for Hudson to handle, especially because of the traffic.

At full build out, the Riverplace development would have included more than 2 million square feet of retail alone – not including the hotel and conference center, offices and 600 or so units of apartments or condos planned for the site.

Members of Hudson Grassroots Central were already talking about what to do next in a chain of e-mails that circulated Wednesday. The correspondence began in the morning after Peters sent a message titled “ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!!!!!” to about 75 people on his e-mail list.

The excited e-mail notified fellow members of W/S’s withdraw, congratulating each of them for coming together to fight the development.

“To all of you, each and every one of you, a ‘tip of the hat’ from me, who only tips his hat when my heart is singing and I am really happy,” Peters wrote.

Responses ranged from “Wow!” to throwing out strategies for avoiding a similar development in Hudson. A few people suggested trying to get the Green Meadow property rezoned to prohibit retail development.

Back at the golf course, Rene Ayotte of Lowell, Mass., also said he’s not surprised that the Riverplace developer backed out of the plans. He and two friends were unloading their golf cart in the early afternoon.

Ayotte plays golf at Green Meadow every week, he said.

“Maybe they’ll stay open a few more years,” Ayotte yelled out as he and a friend took off in a golf cart.