The chairman of the City Council's Ordinances and Rules Committee said he hopes to get an update by Monday about the status of a 1.7 million-square-foot office and retail development slated for the old Polaroid headquarters.
The Main Street site had been owned by a partnership between Related Cos. of New York and Polaroid. That group, called Watch City Development had planned to build a sprawling project called the Commons at Prospect Hill at the 120-acre site.
Polaroid, though, filed for bankruptcy last December and the company has reportedly tried to exit the project. According to published reports, financing for the project had also stalled.
Then last month, the German bank that holds the mortgage on the former Polaroid property bought back the land at an auction for $42.5 million, leaving the project's status up in the air, at best.
Before the auction was held, Watch City Development had asked the Ordinances and Rules Committee for an extension until Dec. 31 to allow the committee to continue its review of an application for a special permit that would allow for a reduction in required parking spaces on the Polaroid site.
With that deadline fast approaching, Ward 2 Councilor Ed Tarallo, committee chairman, said he hopes to get answers about the status of the Commons - as well as other projects seeking special permits from the city before Dec. 31.
Tarallo said he's asked that a representative from Related Companies attend the committee's meeting on Monday.
"I need an answer pretty quick, because we're not going to have a lot of time left," Tarallo said.
Tarallo said after hearing the status of the various projects there are several options. The applicants can withdraw and refile the special permit application, ask for another extension, or the committee would have to render a decision before the end of the year.
"I think we need to make sure that everybody is on the same page," Tarallo said.
Related offered no comment after last month's auction about the status of the Commons development.
Richard Conn can be contacted at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.
