Call it what you want: proposed town square is a mall

During the Middletown Planning Board discussion of Mountain Hill Group’s request for a variance March 25, Mountain Hill’s expert witness, Mr. Herb Simmens, conducted a PowerPoint presentation, which depicted Mountain Hill’s vision of a Middletown town center. Mr. Simmens also described some of the things that he considered associated benefits, such as parking for 4,000 cars and a department store.

I was quite surprised when I realized that Mr. Simmens’ example of a "town center" was actually Quincy Market, a very successful complex consisting of retail businesses and offices which is located in a historically commercial part of Boston. I lived in Boston during the development of Quincy Market and for several years thereafter. I believe that was disingenuous of Mr. Simmens and the Mountain Hill Group to use Quincy Market as an example of what they are proposing as a Middletown town center for the following reasons:

Quincy Market has been a commercial/ industrial center since the mid-1600s. Its growth was organic, primarily due to its close proximity to Boston Harbor. It was not plunked down in an arbitrary manner, the way Mountain Hill proposes to do with its town square (mall).

• It is two blocks from the subway.

• It is two blocks from the water taxi.

• It is six blocks from North Station (Amtrak).

• It is six blocks from South Station (Trailways).

• It is 2 miles from a major international airport (Logan).

• It is three blocks from police headquarters.

• It is not now and historically has never been residential.

The retail and office aspects of Quincy Market were developed and incorporated into existing warehouse structures. There was no impact on adjacent residential neighborhoods when the stores and offices were added (during the late 1980s) because the site was already commercial. Additionally, Boston is a major tourist destination, which is extremely beneficial to the bottom lines of the merchants who are located there.

Since Mountain Hill has seen fit to use Quincy Market as an example of what it plans for Middletown, I would like to know if it plans to ensure that there will be similar accessibility via public transportation. Is Middletown going to be the recipient of a subway, water taxi, international airport, etc. Are there plans in the works to make Middletown a tourist destination? Is this how Mountain Hill plans to ensure that its mall will run at a profit and that traffic will be minimized? How does Mountain Hill intend to guarantee the safety and security of Middletown’s residents? It is common knowledge that developments of the size and scope that Mountain Hill proposes precipitate exponential increases in crime.

Call it what you will, town center or town square — the bottom line is that Mountain Hill wants to build a mall. Town centers evolve over time. They cannot be created "after the fact," and are not comprised of parking lots and department stores.

Rickee Rudowitz

Middletown