56,000-SF Shaw's Approved for Industrial Park

WAKEFIELD, MA-The town’s zoning board of appeals has approved the development of a Shaw’s supermarket proposed for the Robie Industrial Park on Water Street. The store required a special permit to build the 56,000-sf facility in an industrially zoned area.

The move is a controversial one for Wakefield because the park contains historic buildings, a number of which will need to come down to make way for the store. A citizen’s group that was created about a year ago, Wakefield Association to Keep Environments Under Protection or WAKE-UP!, has been waging a fierce battle to prevent the Shaw’s from building at the park and has threatened to appeal this decision to the state. The group contends that the board of appeals did not fully investigate the issues involved.

Thomas Butler, town administrator for Wakefield, tells GlobeSt.com that the project has elicited mixed feelings from many people here. He notes that there is concern over the increase in traffic as well as the fact that the buildings are historic in nature.