Newton, Massachusetts-based New England Development owns the parcel on which it is proposing to develop a 126,000-sf retail store. The company filed for a special permit for the site, which is in a limited industrial zone. An official with the town tells GlobeSt.com that the special permit is required here for big box stores. She notes that the only other big box store in the town is a Home Depot being built but recently Metro Park Corp. proposed developing a 500,000-sf shopping development that would house three large retail stores. The two developments would be on opposite sides of the town, though. Target, would be on the outskirts of town right near the Solomon Pond Mall near Berlin, while the shopping center would be close to Route 128 near Hudson.

A public hearing was held on the proposal, which will require eight out of the 11 members of city council here to approve it. Local residents, especially those close to the store, are concerned about the store's impact on traffic here and the sprawl of big box stores but others want to see the town increase its tax base, especially as the area's office real estate market declines in value.

The town official says that there will be more meetings to get into the "nuts and bolts" of the plan. The city council's urban affairs committee will be reviewing the project in a public forum March 20.