Politics & Government

Planning Board Discusses Wrentham Crossing Project

Public hearing held on retail complex.

The Wrentham Planning Board held a public hearing Wednesday night on possible changes to the permit for the Wrentham Crossing development.

The hearing was held to determine whether the development's permit should be modified to allow one large building instead of three smaller buildings.

Civil engineer James DeVellis gave a presentation to the board. He said the change would actually represent a decrease in the total square footage of the project.

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Board member Bob Cohen asked about the progress on the design of a slip ramp from Route 1A to Route 495. Plans for the ramp were a requirement the town placed on the developers.

"The traffic engineer has not started the process yet," DeVellis said. "[The property owner] has said, if you want to put any of this contingent on the ramp getting through, that would work."

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Cohen suggested placing milestones and deadlines on the permit for the ramp. DeVellis said it would make sense for the developer to work with Town Planner Paige Duncan to set achievable goals.

Wrentham Police Lt. William McGrath spoke as a representative from the department. He said he hoped the town would secure law enforcement cooperation from Wrentham Crossing.

"The [Wrentham Village Premium Outlets] mall has not been a very good partner with police," he said, saying that complex had been resistant to adding security cameras. "We have crimes at the mall — serious crimes, like abductions and armed robberies. They're difficult to solve when you have to deal with substandard technology."

He said the lack of cameras had made the department's job more difficult.

"We have one of the most successful malls in the U.S., and they've told us to go away — they're not interested," he said. "In some ways, I'm trying to get Wrentham Crossing to pick up the slack fromt he mall."

McGrath pointed to Plainville, which required large retail complexes in town (like the Target store on Route 1) have cameras. Board members asked McGrath to research language for such a requirement.


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