What Cape leaders are saying about Wareham’s development …
Wendy Northcross, Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce CEO
I’m impressed with the smart growth principles they have embedded in the plan. Ironically, we are going through a review process of the Cape Cod Commission, and one thing we need to look at is what we call Growth Incentive Zones, trying to designate areas that are allowed to develop more densely, like downtown Hyannis.
The sticking point is there must be offsets in a no-growth zone. One way to do this is TDRs (transfers of development rights). But it is difficult on the Cape to find a sending zone where you are willing to develop more densely. It’s easy to find receiving zones – land, vistas and beautiful places we would like to preserve. So it’s very interesting to see that Plymouth has used TDRs, but they have a little easier time because they don’t have the Cape Cod Commission restrictions. It could be a roadmap of what we could do on the Cape.
It will not really slow down housing growth here. The Cape is the Cape, people love that address. It could help some of the Cape’s affordable housing and rental property shortage, where families and young people starting out have options in the area.
Just because there are new jobs doesn’t mean it will benefit us. The danger is that those jobs
don’t necessarily go to people in the region. What we see is that new housing brings in new people.
As for the business, it will be competition, but there is always competition. Now it is camped out on our doorstep. We’ve already seen some of that, businesses go across the bridge for more space, as Christmas Tree Shops did with their warehouse space.
The opportunity here is for us to watch and learn how growth offset programs work. TDRs are one, so are Districts of Critical Planning Concern, something that people get anxious about but could be better understood.
Tom Moccia, Buzzards Bay Village Association
All manner of sound well-planned economic activity is to be encouraged across southeastern Massachusetts. It is the one remaining population growth region in the state. It will, if constructed as conceived, allow Upper Cape people in need of housing and related amenities to acquire them without leaving the area and with a short travel time. It also could properly and appropriately interface with economic development projects on the table on land north of the Cape Cod Canal in the Route 25 corridor to Route 495 terminus.
Marie Oliva, executive director, Cape Cod Canal Region Chamber of Commerce
A. D. Makepeace has a history of commitment to the community. The type of growth planned is mirrored around the “smart growth” concept now adopted by state and regional planning agencies – a mixture of homes and commercial amenities with small village centers that contrast to the sprawl we now see everywhere.
The proposed Business Development Overlay District will also bring much-needed jobs to the region. Yes, much more negotiation is needed with local officials, and I think they are on the right track. They are working very closely with everyone to develop the kind of change that people will embrace.
Although some might perceive this type of project as overwhelming, I believe A.D. Makepeace is committed to ensuring that this has a positive impact in the region. After all, there are plenty of people who talk about the right kind of economic development towns should have. A.D. Makepeace is actually doing something about that.
Bud Dunham, Sandwich Town Administrator
Sandwich residents would likely travel to any business areas built as part of the Makepeace project.
In terms of positives of the potential Makepeace development, everyone always talks about the construction of housing that normal working people can afford. I’m sure the areas proposed for development would be desirable places to live in due to their proximity to Boston and Providence and other significant areas of employment in the region.
The other positive I think would occur would be the tax gains from business development. As long as there weren’t substantial negatives with traffic issues, this should help the local and regional economies. It would be interesting to see if any of the Makepeace areas could attract business or office space development as opposed to retail. Offices typically have much less of a traffic impact and usually pay employees better than retail establishments. In a weird way, office development would also increase the attractiveness to those towns of the residential development.
Margo Fenn, Director Cape Cod Commission
The impacts on Cape Cod will depend on the form that the development takes, how quickly it builds out, and how well Plymouth, Wareham and Carver plan for the needed infrastructure to support a development of this size. I think it’s too early to make predictions but clearly the issues that you’ve cited (housing, traffic, employment, etc.) will be very important for us and for them.
Douglas Storrs, Mashpee Commons LP
If all parties involved in the planning for the area have learned one thing, it is that a mix of high-density housing and commercial and civic uses in appropriate areas is the best manner in which to address the future growth of this area. Clearly the canal is going to become less and less of a physical and economic barrier between the Cape and the mainland towns in close proximity to the Cape.
The significant land holdings of the A.D. Makepeace company provides for the opportunity to plan for the future development of the area in the regional context.
Ensuring that this area is developed along traditional, historic New England neighborhood patterns will benefit all parties involved, including the towns in which the development will occur, the people who will live and work in the area, as well as the broader off-Cape region, in terms of sustainable economic development.
Dan Dray, Cape Cod Economic Development Council
Projects of this size usually come with a long list of positives and negatives. I think it’s too early to begin speculating on specific impacts, though, since so few details about the final plan are known. Suffice to say that the Cape will probably experience a mixture of opportunities and problems. How they might balance out though is purely a guess at this point.
John Lipman, chief planner and assistant director, Cape Cod Commission
It goes back to who are we. Cape Cod has its own identity. It is a fragile, beautiful, natural environment surrounded by water, with historic villages. It is a sense of place. That is what we have. I don’t think we want to make it into something other than that. We would be losing the heart of the place. Wareham, Plymouth and Carver have a lot of land. Some of that land is as attractive as on Cape Cod. It depends on your taste.
I think we can’t fundamentally deal with communities competing against each other economically. That is a lose-lose scenario.
What may be fine for Wareham is not necessarily what Cape Cod is about. People on Cape Cod will think differently. We have a niche here that is different from every other place. Good competition has never been about what the other person does. It is about what is most innovative and what is unique about your place. There always will be people crossing the bridge for what we don’t have. That applies to Boston or Providence, too. I don’t have [those places] here, and frankly I don’t want them here. I enjoy going there. Every place is different. All places can’t be the same.
While all of us will cross the bridge for what we need, think about what people are crossing the bridge to come here for.
Cape Business Newsletters
Keep up with the latest issues affecting your business and your life! To sign up for any of the Cape Business newsletters, click here.