Dickinson Dev. signs Market Basket to anchor Riverside Landing - $20m project

A renaissance has begun at the Riverside Landing, a mixed-use development in the city's Hicks-Logan-Sawyer District. According to Mark Dickinson, president of Dickinson Development Corp. of Quincy, and Mark White, president of D. W. White Construction Co of Acushnet, the DeMoulas/Market Basket grocery chain has agreed to build a new 95,000 s/f supermarket flagship for the south coast on the 14-acre site of the old Fairhaven Mills. The new supermarket will be approximately 50% larger than a traditional grocery store and allow for many expanded departments for area residents. The DeMoulas/Market Basket is a family-owned business with more than 50 years of experience serving communities with a combination of excellent selection and affordable pricing. The company operates 59 supermarkets in Mass. and N.H. with 4 more locations opening in the next 6 months. The new store will be the chain's 64th location and the 2nd in southeastern Mass. Site work has begun and construction of the new store is slated to begin this fall. Developers Dickinson and White predict that some 200 construction jobs will be created during the $20 million Phase I, and, when open in 2010, the store will employ more than 500 full and part-time staff. At full build, Riverside Landing could employ more than 700 people and bring over $250,000 annually in tax revenues to the city. The initial phase of the development, by virtue of a Growth Initiative Grant provided by the state to the city, also includes public infrastructure improvements including: reconfiguration of new ramps from I-195; an improved, safer signalized intersection; reconstruction of Coggeshall, Mitchell and Sawyer Sts.; and a construction of a new pedestrian-friendly Riverside Dr. connecting Coggeshall St. to Sawyer St. White and Dickinson say the overall goals and objectives of the city's Hicks-Logan-Sawyer master plan are well represented in the Riverside Landing plan: *Generating economic revitalization; *Creating a mixed-use destination; *Removing blighted buildings; *Improving connections to surrounding neighborhoods; and *Expanding access to the river and community resources. Mayor Scott Lang has said the project will transform a primary gateway into the city, provide enhanced economic opportunities, improve the quality of life and employment potential for city residents and welcome and attract visitors. Matthew Morrissey, executive director of the city's economic development council, commended the teams from the private sector that have been working with state agencies and city departments to bring jobs to the city. A second phase of the development calls for construction of a mixed use, 40,000 s/f office/retail building along the riverfront portion of the site, a restaurant and retail buildings at the site's main entrance at Coggeshall St. and the I-195 ramp. A Riverwalk and park will be built along the water's edge to increase community access to the waterfront and make the Acushnet River part of the neighborhood. In collaboration with the city, a new boathouse will be constructed to allow the community to offer new rowing and boating programs. Development partner White, has over 46 years of experience with infrastructure construction projects focusing on general site, utilities, roads, bridges, and rock removal. D.W. White's forte has always been complex, high profile, fast-track projects with aggressive timelines. D.W. White's strength is the added "value engineering" that they bring to the table and, as such, are sought out by the premier developers and engineers in the region for their most complex projects. White has developed extensive residential and commercial projects in Southeastern Mass. Projects include over 500 residential homes, Sconticut Square Shopping Center in Fairhaven, The Renovation of the Bridge Shoppes and Marina, and the recently completed Schooner Cove Condominium project in New Bedford. Founded in 1980, the development partner, Dickinson Development Corporation, has developed over three million square feet of office, retail and industrial space and hotels in New England and Florida. Mark Dickinson has a proven track record in successful development and repositioning of underutilized real estate. Examples include the century-old Willard School in Quincy which he transformed into a first-class office building; the Walkers Brook Crossing retail plaza in Reading, Mass., built over a 30-acre town landfill; and Clocktower Place in Lynn, a manufacturing plant turned into attractive office space. Dickinson says, "Transforming underused land into an attractive, productive property gives me a true sense of accomplishment. A successful development must fit in with surroundings, and new construction should connect with the community to bring new vitality. In addition, I've had the privilege to work with MarketBasket as they have been a tenant at our Merrimac Plaza in Methuen for over 20 years. What they offer to the community in terms of quality and value are unmatched."