BBJ Tells It Plain

The Boston Business Journal's write up on Karp's plan. Gotta love the plain language.

Karp has approached town officials to potentially review his project proposal. The meeting would not be open to the public, according to sources cited by the newspaper.

That about says it all.

New England Development advances Newburyport plan
Boston Business Journal - by Craig M. Douglas

New England Development appears to be advancing its long-stalled plan to convert swaths of waterfront parcels in Newburyport into a possible mixed-use community.
According to a Friday report by the Daily News of Newburyport, New England Development CEO Stephen Karp has approached town officials to potentially review his project proposal. The meeting would not be open to the public, according to sources cited by the newspaper.
The matter was first presented before Newburyport’s planning board by Planning Director Andy Port, who said Karp wants to review his preliminary plans with the town informally before making the final project details public. The land in question is permitted for a variety of uses including residential and retail development.
New England Development is the largest landowner in Newburyport. The assessed property value of the parcels owned by its Newburyport Manager LLC total $41.3 million, or just over 1 percent of the town’s total assessed real estate value of $3.3 billion.
The Newton-based firm has been an active player in Massachusetts’ commercial real estate market in recent years, most recently as an opportunistic buyer in the aftermath of the 2008 credit crisis. The firm’s investments and attention have targeted troubled assets such as the Westgate Mall in Brockton as well as the still-unsettled battle over the development parcels known as Westwood Station.
Other deals to gain recent momentum have included a decade-long effort to revitalize an 11-acre parcel in Newton as well as a massive mixed-use project coming online in Northborough.