A Few Questions For Southfield

Today I went to visit the visitors center for my neighborhood megadevelopment known as Southfield. Southfield is the name given to the redevelopment of the former South Weymouth Naval Air Base which closed in the early 1990's. The developer, LNR Properties has several nice ideas, in particular the idea of the sports complex and proposed movie studio project but overall, I feel like the development lacks imagination and does not address some critical regional needs. Even more frustrating, it seems like nothing is really going on over there. So I have a few questions for LNR Properties and Southfield, as the current master plan is to become reality within the next 10-15 years.

1. Have you seen what is going on over at the Hingham Shipyard?

The new development at the Hingham Shipyard, a joint venture of four different companies, is really pretty wonderful. There is a great supermarket, a comfortable movie theatre, some nice restaurants all complementing the shipyard's function as a transit hub into Boston via commuter boat. While not exactly inclusive given the homes in the 500,000-1.000,000 range under construction currently, the overall development is very user friendly for the surrounding community, at least for people with cars. Most important, they built the retail center first and are now adding the homes.

Lennar Urban developers, one of the four partners, is a nationwide real estate developer. It was also once the parent company for LNR Properties, Southfield's developer. Southfield is going to start with housing which I feel is a mistake and this will not generate the interest and enthusiasm needed to grease the wheels of funding sources. Are real estate companies driving urban and regional planning decisions these days? If so, LNR should follow the lead of its former parent and start first with commercial development which will benefit the region.

2. Was much thought given to what is really needed for the region?

Southfield proudly talks about its 18-hole golf course to begin construction in 2011. Six months out of the year, golfers are not going to be able to use the golf course due to cold temperatures and snow. If they really want a golf course, nine holes will do just fine. What the region really needs, however, is a new, beautiful community college.

On the map of surrounding towns provided by the Southfield brochure, the city of Brockton is conspicuously absent. No doubt some would like to pretend it doesn't exist. Brockton for all its problems is also the home to the nearest community college, the barely adequate Massasoit Community College campus. Professional work for the next 20-25 years will require a minimum of an associates degree. What is now Massasoit should be Brockton High School. Massasoit should be rebuilt and expanded on the current Southfield site, where there is more than enough room to rebuild it.

If they do not rebuild Massasoit on the Southfield site, they will need to build an elementary school, a middle school and most likely a new high school in the area once housing construction is completed. Schools double as community resource centers. The region needs this, quoting none other than Charlie Baker, " to get people back to work."

3. Any plans for a history and cultural center?

The retail development of Hingham Shipyard includes black and white photographs of workers and the history of work done at the shipyard prominently featured on the walls of the new movie theatre. There is also interesting detail about the ships built there as you walk around the premises. Southfield now has an airplane replica and benches surrounding the airplane in circular formation. There is much more history to tell, an interesting history of the strategic defense role played by the former Naval Air Station dating back at least to World War II. Something should be happening now along these lines.

4. Why the limited access from the surrounding neighborhoods?

The development of Southfield is going to begin with the creation of an East-West Parkway starting at Route 18 and the present day South Weymouth Commuter Rail station and traveling east until the road connects with commercial development in Rockland on the present day Reservoir View road. This will be nice when it is finished but it seems to me to make sense to also reopen at least two former points of entry onto the base and let traffic start flowing through the area now. One of these points is at the north end near Shea Drive, the second is halfway along the proposed new parkway coming out of Rockland center,

5. Why no ongoing citizen participation in the development?

Activity generates more activity. People involved in plans make them much more likely to happen. Good new ideas come from people who care about what is going on. If things continue at their current static pace, don't be surprised to see the Movie Studio project going elsewhere. Southfield should be actively inviting neighborhood participation.

Updates to follow as progress proceeds on this site.