Planning Board Recommends Dropping Route 1 to I-95 Connecting Road for Norwood Arena “Park Place” Industrial Park-September 13, 1977

Following months of public hearings and negotiations, the Planning Board voted unanimously last night to recommend against constructing a connecting road between Route 1 and Route I-95 at town expense for the proposed Norwood Arena industrial park development.

“Park Place” Industrial Subdivision Plans

Planning Board Chairman Thomas F. Cavanaugh announced the decision after reviewing a status report from Boston engineering firm Metcalf and Eddy Inc., which was hired to study future industrial development on the 220 buildable acres of the Norwood Arena site. Metcalf and Eddy reported that during an August 19 meeting with the state Department of Public Works (DPW), state officials confirmed they would reject any subdivision design that altered the existing cloverleaf interchange at Neponset Street and Route I-95—ruling out two initial connecting road proposals that required cloverleaf modifications.

Consequently, the planning board voted to inform selectmen that the industrial park—named “Park Place” by developer James H. Shane (31-year-old board chairman of Appendagez Inc. and Faded Glory clothing distributors) after the popular board game—should proceed strictly as an internal industrial subdivision. Drawn by Richard Merriken of Norwood Engineering Co., the master plan encompasses just over one mile of roadway built to county standards for Chapter 90 stipulations, should a highway connection ever become viable in the future.

The planning board established a mandatory bank performance bond of $576,000 for the industrial park development. Merriken reported that the project had already secured approval from the Norwood Conservation Commission and anticipated no obstacles from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding building permits.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger