In a released statement, Kenneth A. Goff, Tri-Town Development's executive director, states, "There were several factors the board had come to realize would take a lot longer than originally planned. Foremost among these were the complex environmental permitting process for onsite and offsite; the timely financing of the various infrastructure improvement projects associated with base redevelopment; and staging construction contracts consistent with regional planning processes. The board also decided that additional times was needed to develop a comprehensive business plan and marketing strategy, and to identify funding sources for on and off-site infrastructure that could cost nearly $200 million."

The first stage, an "initial development" stage, is slated to be completed by 2003 and would include up to 300,000 sf of office space and up to 300 units of senior housing. The second stage, the Route 18 development stage, is slated to be completed by 2006 and would add an additional 700,000 sf of office space and a 190-acre golf course once Route 18 is widened and upgraded. Stage three, the final build stage, would add an addition 2.5 million sf of office and residential space and increase senior housing units to 700. This would be done once improvements to Route 3 and a connector road are completed.

According to Mary Cordeiro, an assistant to Goff, part of the reason for the order of development is the Massachusetts Highway Department's decision to improve Route 18 before developing a connector road from Route 3 to Route 18. "They were going to do the connector road first and then Route 18," Cordeiro tells GlobeSt.com. "But they determined that the traffic on Route 18 required immediate attention. So Route 18 will open up development on the front end of the base."

Cordeiro adds that a number of developers have approached Tri-Town Development about developing portions of the base. MassTech's proposal, to replace the development corporation as the master developer, was rejected, but Tri-Town is still in talks with the company. "The mission of the corporation now is to sell parcels of land to develop for senior housing, golf courses, commercial space, retail space and entertainment," she says. This past December, Tri-Town terminated a deal with Mills Corp. to develop a million-sf retail mall on the base.

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