Ferry lot may be shared by big store

HINGHAM

Commuter spaces would be reduced

July 28, 2011|By Johanna Seltz, Globe Correspondent

The developer of the Hingham Shipyard would like to add a big-box store of… (Donald Rockhead for The…)

The developer of the Hingham Shipyard wants to lease part of the MBTA-owned commuter boat parking lot so it can build a large retail store nearby on Route 3A - a prospect that worries some ferry users but excites town officials eager to see more tax revenue from the site.

The cash-strapped transit agency would also benefit, taking in about $240,000 annually in rental payments, according to MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. The MBTA also would save on maintenance costs, since the developer would assume that responsibility for the entire 12.5-acre lot under the proposed 30-year lease, he said.

The MBTA would continue to operate the commuter lot, which would have more than enough space for the number of cars that currently park there and “for any future [ferry] ridership growth,’’ he said. An average of 650 cars daily use the lot, which has about 1,750 spaces, he said.

Pesaturo said Samuels and Associates, the shipyard developer, approached the transit agency about leasing 3.85 “unused’’ acres of the parking lot, in the corner farthest from the waterfront. The developer wants to put a large-box store on the Eastern Yacht site on Route 3A and needs the MBTA parking spaces to meet parking requirements, he said.

He said the store would be a Target, although a spokesman for Samuels would not confirm that.

“We can’t talk about who our tenants are before we have a lease,’’ said Leslie Cohen, senior vice president of development at Samuels and Associates. “But yes, we are interested in [the MBTA] parcel and in trying to bring a large-format retail store - about 130,000 square feet - to add to the Shipyard. Our goal is to anchor the development and anchor the Route 3A corridor.’’

The proposed store - which would need a special permit from the town - would be comparable in size to the Target in Hanover, which paid that town about $232,000 in taxes last fiscal year, according to the Hanover assessor’s department.

Although the site Samuels and Associates is working with in Hingham - just under eight acres altogether - is smaller than normal for a large box store, Cohen said she was “comfortable that the layout we’re working on can support’’ the parking demands and wouldn’t take over any more commuter spaces.

“The commuter boat is integral to the success of our development,’’ she said. “Anything we do, we’re always cognizant of the commuter boat.’’