Whittington, left, says for her SouthField was “an exciting opportunity to be a part of something new.”

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By Christian Schiavone

THE PATRIOT LEDGER

Census figures show SouthField had a population of zero residents in 2010.

Steve and Molly LeMott made it two on Friday.

The LeMotts officially became the first residents of the new community on the site of the former SouthWeymouth Naval Air Station. Developers hope they will be the first of thousands taking up residence in the community of homes and businesses.

“We’ve never lived in a place so nice,” Steve LeMott said, standing in the couple’s new home on Thistle Lane.

The couple sold their home in East Lyme, Conn., in April 2010 after Steve LeMott was forced into early retirement at Pfizer.

They decided to move to the Boston area to be closer to their two daughters but couldn’t seem to find the right place.

They stayed at a family cottage in Scituate and then with Molly’s brother in Plymouth before they contacted Whitman Homes, one of the first builders to buy land at SouthField. Despite some hesitation, they signed a purchase-and-sale agreement in November for what would be one of the first completed homes.

“It was frightful and a little intimidating. We were the only ones,” said Molly LeMott, who first visited the property when it was still a snow-covered former runway.

“With all the snow I thought, ‘What did we do?’ Then it just came to life.”

The couple had never heard of SouthField before that, although they have South Shore roots. Molly LeMott’s mother and extended family grew up inWeymouth field next to the and the couple lived in Stoughton before moving to Connecticut in the 1980s.

From the windows of their threebedroom, two-anda- half-bath home, the view is of heavy construction equipment and workers building the townhouses and singlefamily homes. Outside, the hum of machinery and the whine of electric saws filled the air.

But the couple said they are already looking forward to the day when the area is transformed into a completed neighborhood.

Rich Whittington, president of Whitman Homes, applauded the LeMotts for being the first residents.

“It takes a lot of courage to be one of the first ones in,” he said. “We believe once the masses find out about SouthField and the concept of a planned community, it’ll take off.”

Whittington said Whitman Homes expects buyers to close on two more homes in a few weeks. Developers John M. Corcoran and Co. and Interactive Building Group are also building homes and apartments at SouthField. In addition, the William B. Rice Eventide Home plans to build senior housing and a nursing facility there.

Plans for the project, which has suffered multiple setbacks, include 2,800 homes and 2 million square feet of commercial space.

AMELIA KUNHARDT PHOTOS

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New England’s newest community and a national model of smartgrowth and transit-oriented development is growing again.  John M. Corcoran & Co. announced today that it will develop 226 units of apartment housing and 8,700 square feet of first-floor retail space at SouthField Highlands, the community’s first residential neighborhood located only a short walk to the on-site South Weymouth commuter rail station.

“Corcoran understands New England and will bring that unique style and high quality craftsmanship to SouthField,” said Kevin Chase, regional vice president of LNR Property Corporation, SouthField’s master developer.  “This is another great milestone not just for LNR but for the surrounding communities who share in the revenues and new jobs created by development at SouthField.”

The project will have a total development cost of $44.6 million, produce 200 construction jobs and generate $1.39million in so-called host community payments from the developer LNR to Weymouth, Rockland and Abington.  Corcoran plans to begin construction in early May and the first residents are expected to move in during the spring of 2012.

“We chose SouthField because the combination of transit-oriented development and the excitement surrounding this new and vibrant community is unmatched anywhere in New England,” said Rick High, president of John M. Corcoran & Co.  “Our construction and permanent lender, UBS, one of the country’s largest and most successful investment institutions, agreed with us that SouthField presents a terrific opportunity to create the newest rental apartment community in the area.”

Sixty single family, townhouse and garden court homes are currently under construction at SouthField by two of the South Shore’s most popular custom homebuilders, Whitman Homes and Interactive Building Group, and Rogerson Communities is scheduled to begin construction on the William B. Rice Eventide senior independent living and skilled nursing facility.  Residential sales offices are open on-site and SouthField’s first residents are expected to move in this summer.

The closing of the Corcoran land sale will trigger an $821,000 payment from LNR to the Town of Weymouth, a $432,000 payment to Rockland and a $136,000 payment to Abington.  With these payments,  the neighboring communities of Weymouth, Abington and Rockland will have received $7.2 million in host community payments from LNR to date.  LNR also paid an entitlement fee of $775,000 to South Shore Tri-Town Development Corporation as a result of the Corcoran land sale.

The Corcoran project will feature 226 studio, one, two, and three-bedroom apartment homes, featuring fine interior details such as Berber carpets, washer-dryers, ceramic tile, and crown molding.  On-site amenities will include a full fitness facility, swimming pool, community room, indoor parking, and access to the award-winning SouthField development.  In keeping with the “green” vision of SouthField, Corcoran intends to certify the apartment homes with the U.S. Green Building Council under its Leadership in Energy Efficient Design requirements.

Formerly the site of the South Weymouth Naval Air Station, SouthField will feature, at full build-out, 2,855 units of housing and 2 million square feet of commercial and retail space, including Massachusetts’ first full scale movie studio, SouthField Studios.  The plan also includes more than 1,000 acres of neighborhood parks and dedicated open space, a links style golf course, and a $30 million indoor/outdoor sports and recreation complex to be developed by former Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette and soccer star Kristine Lilly.

John M. Corcoran & Co. is one of the Boston area’s largest privately-owned developers and managers of rental apartment homes.  Corcoran Management Company, Inc., its property management affiliate, currently manages more than 11,000 apartment homes in six states. Corcoran has owned and managed multi-family rental housing in Weymouth since 1970.

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Kevin Chase, Robin Daniels, and Steve Wynne of LNR Property Corp.

by Susan Diesenhouse

BisNow

In the Boston area, you know building 500 residential units is a big deal.  But what do you call SouthField, a $2B project going up at the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station, which starts with that and then includes a 1,400-acre site for stores, offices, film studios, a golf course, and sports complex?   If nothing else, a lead story.

Read the full article.

LNR Property today announced the latest in a string of residential development deals at SouthField, New England’s newest community and a national model of smartgrowth and transit-oriented development.

Quincy’s William B. Rice Eventide Home will expand to a new facility at SouthField which will include 192 units of senior independent living and a 46-bed  skilled nursing facility on 9.4 acres in SouthField Highlands, the community’s first residential neighborhood, only a short walk to the South Weymouth commuter rail station.

The project will produce between 300 and 500 construction jobs. And as with previous deals, the Eventide closing will generate more than $1 million in new host community payments from the developer LNR Property to Weymouth and Abington under the host community agreements signed recently by the two communities. LNR Property previously announced that two of the South Shore’s most popular custom homebuilders, Whitman Homes and Interactive Building Group, will construct dozens of new homes in SouthField Highlands.

“SouthField provides us with a unique opportunity to create a wonderful new campus that offers our residents the vibrant surrounding community they seek with easy access to public transit and the amenities of Boston and the entire South Shore,” said Joyce Haglund, administrator of Rice Eventide.

At SouthField, Rice Eventide, whose Quincy facility was named one of U.S. News & World Report’s 2010 “America’s Best Nursing Homes,” will expand into independent senior living and provide a broad spectrum of services across a continuum of care. The spacious new senior community is being developed by Rogerson Communities, a leading provider of senior housing and services in Greater Boston, designed by Sheskey Architects in Quincy, Mass., and projected to begin construction in 2012. The total development value is estimated between $45 and $50 million.

“The residents of Rice Eventide will contribute a vital element to the SouthField community,” said Kevin Chase, regional vice president of LNR Property. “This project will create hundreds of jobs on the South Shore and send more than a million dollars to local communities as SouthField continues to be an economic growth engine on the South Shore.”

The closing of the Eventide land sale will trigger a $829,676.30 payment from LNR Property to Weymouth and a $137,007.58 payment to Abington. Rockland has yet to sign a new host community agreement.

Over the course of the development of SouthField, the neighboring communities of Weymouth, Abington and Rockland have received more than $5.8 million in host community payments from LNR, including $3,567,318.89 to Weymouth, $1,727,400.42 to Rockland and $506,526.32 to Abington.

Formerly the South Weymouth Naval Air Station, SouthField will feature 2,850 units of housing and 2 million square feet of commercial and retail space, including Massachusetts’ first full scale movie studio, SouthField studios. The plan also includes more than 1,000 acres of neighborhood parks and dedicated open space, a championship golf course, and a $30 million indoor/outdoor sports and recreation complex to be developed by Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette and soccer star Kristine Lilly.

The Patriot Ledger

What planners envision as the South Shore’s answer to Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue – a broad boulevard that is walkable, densely-settled and steps from mass transit – is expected to break ground this fall at the SouthField redevelopment site.

Interactive Building Group of Hingham and Whitman Homes of Canton are the first two builders to put down stakes at the 1,400-acre former South Weymouth Naval Air Station property after years of delays and false starts. The recent authorization of state and federal funding for a $53 million, 3.5-mile parkway across the property was the jumpstart the long-delayed project needed, said Rich Whittington, president of Whitman Homes.

(Read the full article)