350 apartments and townhouses. Half a million square feet of retail. That's what's being proposed for a parcel of land at the intersection of Rtes. 9 and 20 in Northborough, and town officials "are grappling with whether it would be a boon or a bane for the town," according to the Boston Globe West Weekly.
The development would, of course, increase taxes, as well push the town over the state-mandated 10% affordable housing threshold, thus protecting it from possible future large-scale developments over which it would have no control. However, such a development would also increase the need for town services - not to mention traffic.
The retail development would be an open-air center, and "the company is considering a pedestrian-friendly 'Main Street experience,'" the Globe says. No word as to whether it would be a pedestrian-appealing experience for residents of the apartments and townhouses to get to the stores....
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