This 1,450-acre piece of land--one of the largest pieces of undeveloped land in the Greater Boston area--is 12 miles south of the city and crosses the borders of Weymouth, Rockland and Abington. Virginia-based Mills Corp. was planning to develop a mega-mall complex here but fierce local opposition to the proposal eventually drove the company away.

The new plan--which would be done in stages over a 10-year period--involves 700 units of senior housing, 3.5 million sf of office and retail space, recreation facilities, hotels, a conference center and an 18-hole golf course. Hundreds of acres will be left as open space. "This concept has been talked about over the past year, since the mall idea left town," Stanley Hurwitz spokesperson for the South Shore Tri Town Development Corp. tells GlobeSt.com. Tri Town is the agency in charge of the station's redevelopment.

Hurwitz points out that, as opposed to the mall, which he says "was going to be plunked down quickly and create a traffic nightmare," this project will progress when the infrastructure is ready. "This plan is a catalyst for all these other things to happen in the area," he says. The state is already preparing to begin construction on Route 18 by adding an extra lane in each direction. "They are going to work on five of the worst intersections on Route 18," notes Hurwitz.