The prospective employer has asked not to be identified until the deal for the project is completed. On Wednesday, about 50 residents attended a community meeting about the redevelopment, according to Monte Hilleman, who represents the North End Area Revitalization group and other neighborhood organizations. Hilleman said the residents were split on whether to support the project, which is known as the Great Northern business center. The project, he said, differs from previous ideas that emerged from a community vision for the site. For example, the previous vision called for four to five businesses and up to 1,000 jobs at the site rather than one large manufacturer and 300 jobs.
Some neighbors are uneasy about a proposal that relies too much on one business.
We ve seen examples of Whirlpool and Stroh s, Hilleman said. We know what happens when large employers leave communities, and I think there s a feeling in the community that our odds might be better off if we had more than one firm at the site. Hilleman said the building would be near residences and is not very pedestrian friendly or neighborhood friendly. But the Great Northern project also has its supporters in the neighborhood, Hilleman said, including those who are anxious to see something happen at the long-vacant site. A century of heavy industrial use took its toll on the former brownfield site, which was contaminated with asbestos and lead paint before the Port Authority began to clean it up in 1996.