Everyone loved Benny’s. But a proposal to turn Benny’s Plaza into a high-end apartment complex? Not so much.
Cabot, Cabot & Forbes, a 100-year-old Boston real estate firm, wants to redevelop the North Plymouth property, which is mostly deserted.
The firm’s chief executive officer, Jay Doherty, came to town Wednesday with a plan to build 200 to 240 market-rate apartments and some commercial space on the seven-acre Benny’s Plaza site.
But after a raucous meeting with residents at the Cordage Museum, Doherty is thinking about pulling the plug. Most of those in attendance opposed the idea of housing at the site.
“I’ve had very bad (meetings with residents),” he said in an interview. “This was among the 10 worst. Usually these meetings are relaxed and informal. We expected about 10 people. There were around 100.”
“What was particularly uncomfortable was the shouting, the screaming, sprinkled with obscenities,” he said.
Some people at the meeting, though – including one of the few remaining tenants in the plaza – offered support for remaking the plaza, whose decline accelerated after the Benny’s department store closed in 2017.
“Benny’s Plaza has been neglected for seven years,” said Peter Balboni, owner of Pioppi’s liquor store. “It attracts all kinds of trash, abandoned cars and boats, and the building itself is in extreme disrepair. The areas is ripe for improvement and yes, I am willing to work with this developer.”
But Select Board chair Richard Quintal, who opposed the proposal, predicted the plan will go nowhere.
He had implored residents to attend the meeting, at which Doherty unveiled his proposal to members of the North Plymouth and Plymouth Center steering committees.
Clare Montanari, chair of the Plymouth Center steering committee, said the project falls under its jurisdiction and group was not formally notified of the meeting (which she attended).
She said if the proposal is “properly submitted” to the Plymouth Center group it will hold a hearing.
Everett Malaguti, vice chair of the North Plymouth steering committee, said he notified the Plymouth Center group last week that Wednesday’s meeting was going to take place.
The committees – which are advisory only – advocate for the needs of their neighborhoods.
“It’s quite clear what they people want — and they don’t want that,” Quintal said of Doherty’s pitch.
Quintal wants the town to buy the parcel – most of which is covered by crumbling asphalt. He called the property “very, very valuable.” It is assessed at more than $5 million and the town would likely have to borrow to afford the purchase.
“It’s a link to the waterfront,” Quintal said. “It joins the rail trail. There could have a satellite park there. I’m looking long range. I’m not looking to redo a building.”
But even if residents backed the apartment plan, Doherty would still face major hurdles. The site is zoned commercial and the developer would need Town Meeting to approve a change. “I don’t think it will happen,” Quintal said. “I hope it doesn’t happen.”
Cabot, Cabot & Forbes has a signed purchase and sales agreement with the current owner, the Carpionato Group, a real estate development company that bought 27 of the Benny’s buildings after all 31 stores were shuttered in 2017.
Doherty wouldn’t say what the sales price would be, citing a confidentiality agreement. Neither would he say whether the sale is contingent on his company getting the necessary town permits for his apartment complex.
Carpionato Group officials did not return emails seeking comment on the proposed sale.
“We would like to redevelop the Benny’s site,” Doherty said in an interview before Wednesday’s meeting. “It’s a blighted site. It’s not susceptible to other uses. Its highest and best use is multi-family residential. We’re going to approach the town to do that.”
He said the complex would cater to young professionals in their twenties and thirties with no children, who wouldn’t strain town services and can afford market rate (i.e. high) rents.
Doherty wouldn’t say what rents would likely be.
The building itself would look like something “that grew out of the ground in Plymouth,” Doherty said, using colors and materials that are consistent with the town’s historic architecture.
The eventual project, though, might look nothing like the rudimentary plan that has been circulating among town officials. That plan shows two four-story buildings, with courtyards, green space, a dog park and a parking deck.
The plan would be subject to revision — to reflect the wishes of the town and its residents, Doherty said.
The firm has developed more than 100 million square feet of commercial space in Massachusetts and across the country since its founding in 1904, according to its website.
It is currently redeveloping the St. Gabriel’s Monastery and Church in Brighton and 200 Quannapowitt, a 440-unit apartment complex on Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield.
The Wakefield project, Doherty said, was changed dramatically in response to community requests and concerns.
The building was lowered from six to four stories and a public waterfront park was created, which Doherty called the “biggest amenity for anyone who lives in Wakefield.” Also, the developer added a waterfront restaurant, a satellite police station and helped the town apply for a state grant to upgrade its water system.
Doherty said his company would be similarly open to suggestions from Plymouth residents.
“To the extent they want to guide us in the many elements of the project, we will do our best to implement that guidance,” he said.
In the end, he said, the fate of the project will rest with Plymouth residents.
“We will talk to people,” he said. “If they tell us to stand down, we’ll leave. “
On Thursday, Doherty said he’s discouraged but hasn’t decided yet whether to scrap the plan altogether.
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.