On Wednesday night developers held a meeting to present their vision for 50-acres located on Madison St. that abuts Route 1 and 495. Over two dozen residents, primarily from Madison St., listened to a proposal that depicted the land being used for retail, restaurants, offices, warehouses, and hotels. Currently, the property is mostly zoned residential and would require a change to commercial. The developer, Madison Properties (a name that does not refer to Madison St.), intends to start discussing with town officials the plans of submitting a warrant article in June requesting the zoning change. “We envision a retail anchored mixed use development on the property,” explained Denis Dowdle, from Madison Properties. “We think the area can support more retail.”
The proposal, which did not include any specific tenants, was not well received by most in attendance.
Amy O'Brien, a Madison St. resident and a vocal opponent to past efforts to rezone the land, said this was the same type of proposal the town has voted down in the past. If necessary, she said she would work with her neighbors to oppose zoning changes. "This is not a new proposal," she said.
Neighbors of the land had concerns with property values, increased traffic, quality of life, as well as what types of business might be built next to their property. Paul Charbonneau said he purchased his home -- which abuts the property -- because of how the undeveloped land is currently zoned. “I bought [my] house with the understanding that the property is residential," Charbonneau said.
One major issue with the land is access. Because of its close proximity to 495, there is no way to put an access point on Route 1. The only access to the land is from Madison St. "[The land] is not on Route 1," Madison St.'s Joan Dooley said, "It abuts Route 1. It’s on Madison. It’s off a residential street. This is our residential street."
The developers said they would make their best efforts to design the entrance to discourage people from traveling the length of Madison and turning right into the development. "Our plan is to make it as restrictive as possible," say Dowdle.
Other concerns expressed by those in attendance addressed safety and traffic on Madison which is narrow at parts and curvy. Several described regular accidents that occur now and speculated more would occur with increased traffic. "I'm against it because of safety concerns," said Wrentham's Lee Berman.
Regardless of any development to the property there will be an increase in traffic. On Monday a presentation was made in Plainville regarding a proposal for a three building project with a total floor area of 120,700 square feet at 101 Madison St., Plainville. It is believed a supermarket, possibly a Market Basket, will anchor the new development. One building would be 83,000 square feet, the other would be 24,000 square feet and the third would be 13,000 square feet. The larger 83,000 square foot building is the right size for a modern supermarket. Market Basket did not return The Wrentham Times request for comment.
David Wluka, president of Wluka Real Estate, representing Joe Lorusso, the property owner, said that traffic was coming anyway and this project might help mitigate some of the issues.
The Wednesday night meeting was not an official public meeting but part of the communication process Wluka is using to communicate to the residents along Madison. He said he sent over 200 post cards to invite people to the meeting.
Despite the negative reaction from those in attendance, Dowdle indicated he will continue to move the project along with plans to submit an application for a warrant at town meeting in June. "We’re going to start and meet with town officials," he said.
