4-Story Retail/Housing Development Pitched for Landing

A proposal to build 116 apartments above a level of retail space on the Braintree side of the Landing is the kind of "smart growth" that would jumpstart the long under-utilized business corridor.

That was the message brought to a public meeting Wednesday night in East Braintree by developer Josh Katzen, local officials and several area residents who expressed excitement at the prospect of re-development.

"We need to have people in the Landing," said Frank Marinelli, an attorney representing Katzen and the company he formed for the project, Landing Apartments LLC.

Katzen, a developer with Forest Properties that has been in the industry for 30 years, said he began looking at the site over the summer and found it a nice place to live, but in many ways blighted.

"It looks like Dresden after World War II," Katzen joked. "We're under the impression that the town really is ready for something to happen."

The project, still in its preliminary stages, would stretch 370 feet from Chair Fair to El Sarape and go back 202 feet at its deepest point toward the municipal parking lot.

Katzen said he has worked out agreements with the owners of Chair Fair, Daniel Quirk, who owns the building that contains H&R Block, and the family that owns El Sarape.

He was unable to finalize a deal with Nick Delegas, who owns the property that continues on the Weymouth side and which has long been intermittently vacant and subject to contentious disputes between Delegas and Weymouth officials.

"It's not ideal, because it's a little blighted" on the Weymouth side next to the proposed development, Katzen said. But he expects movement there once the Braintree project is complete and creating additional local customers.

The housing units will be targeted at a price range between $1,300 and $2,100 per month, Katzen said. They will likely be 40 percent two-bedroom, 40 percent one-bedroom and 20 percent studio.

Architect Hugh Russell, who has also worked on the SouthField development in Weymouth, said the three floors of apartments will be crafted to fit into the character of the neighborhood.

Existing businesses Chair Fair, H&R Block and El Sarape are set to remain in the first floor space, while the remaining retail units could be filled with small shops or restaurants. 

Project engineers are working on a number of challenges the site poses, including rapid elevation changes, the smelt brook that runs underground beside the development on the Weymouth line, and connecting parking with the building and the rest of the Landing.

They are also designing a way to keep intact the El Sarape structure, building steel around it so that it can remain open during construction.

"El Sarape is not going anywhere," Katzen said.

Parking is planned as a combination of space that can be made underneath the building in certain areas and in the under-used town lot. The developer will seek a special permit to build four stories, as required under zoning regulations passed by Braintree and Weymouth three years ago.

Those zoning changes, the construction of the MBTA commuter station and a $2.4 million state-funded streetscape project combined to create the ideal place for this kind of investment, attorney Marinelli said, adding that mixed-use development is being encouraged by municipal planners at places like the Landing all over Massachusetts.

"There will be continued deterioration without investment and redevelopment," Marinelli said. "This is a redevelopment that will make a difference."

Several local officials expressed similar sentiments Wednesday, and Katzen said he has been working with both towns' mayors and lawmakers to make the project fit into the community.

"I'm pleased that someone is carrying forward a plan," said Councilor-at-Large Leland Dingee, who lives in East Braintree. "It will take local residents to support Weymouth Landing."

District 3 Councilor Tom Bowes encouraged residents to offer input on the project, and said he believes the project "is sorely needed."

Councilors Henry Joyce and Charles Ryan, and Councilor-Elect Stephen O'Brien also lent their support during the meeting at the town recreation building at 85 Quincy Ave. Rep. Mark Cusack, D-Braintree, and Mayor Joseph Sullivan both sent letters in favor of the project.

"I, like you, share the belief that our Braintree/Weymouth Landing area can be revitalized into a dynamic place for all to enjoy," Sullivan said in his letter, read aloud Wednesday by his aide Christopher Griffin.

"That is why we combined our efforts with our neighbors in Weymouth to secure $2.4 million in public funding to enhance the streetscape... That public dollar expenditure has proven wise in that the private sector stimulation that has been offered by this proposal will greatly assist in the economic vitality of the landing area."