page_title: Naval Air Station South Weymouth
section_title: Redevelopment
hierarchical_section_title: Naval Air Station South Weymouth / Redevelopment
caption_attribution_description: English: A former U.S. Navy Douglas A-4B Skyhawk (BuNo 142940) as a memorial at the former Naval Air Station South Weymouth, Weymouth, Rockland, and Abington, Massachusetts (USA).
context_page_description: Naval Air Station South Weymouth, was an operational United States Navy airfield from 1942 to 1997 in South Weymouth, Massachusetts. It was first established as a regular Navy blimp base during World War II. During the postwar era the base became part of the Naval Air Reserve Training Command, hosting a variety of Navy and Marine Corps reserve aircraft squadrons and other types of reserve units. Like most BRAC sites, environmental contamination was detected in 1986, and since 1993 numerous remedies and long term monitoring of ground water are in place. Since 2005, over 600 acres have been transferred to the affected towns for reuse, and in 2011 the Navy signed a $25 million contract to transfer its remaining land.
context_section_description: In March 1998, an initial reuse plan was approved by a three-town vote for office/retail use, senior housing, golf course, and ballfields. In 1998, the Massachusetts Legislature established the South Shore Tri-Town Development Corporation, representing Abington, Rockland and Weymouth, the three towns that were part of the station; in 2002 Tri-Town selected a master developer of the site, which in 2013 sold its interests to developer Starwood Land Venture, an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group.
  In 2005, a revised reuse plan incorporating many of EPA's Smart Growth concepts was approved by the three affected towns.
  In December 2008, a deal was reached to build a movie studio complex on the site. The $100 million complex, to be called SouthField Studios, was planned to include 11 sound stages, production offices and other office space. Construction was set to begin in August 2009, but stalled due to financing difficulties.
  A condominium community development called "SouthField" was planned, construction work began during December 2010 and the first homes were sold and occupied by summer 2011. Over 600 acres have already been transferred to the local reuse authority, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Federal Aviation Administration. In November 2011, the Navy and Tri Town signed a purchase and sales agreement for the remaining 834 acres of the base; about 708 acres of the 834 acres are available for transfer and 126 acres will be leased until the property has been cleaned up or closed out and deemed suitable for transfer by the EPA.
  As of June 2014, the master developer "Starwood wanted state lawmakers to approve legislation that would rewrite oversight of the project by the end of the formal legislative session on July 31", and that "[...] it could walk away from the project if that doesn't happen." Starwood wants responsibility for providing public services and collecting property taxes to shift from Tri-Town to the three towns. Tri-Town asked the Navy to intervene, which has declined. In August, the state Senate enacted Starwood Land Ventures' proposed legislation and thus reduced Tri-Town's role.
  Tri-Town was reconstituted as the Southfield Redevelopment Authority that month.  As of 2018, the development is known as Union Point, planned as a smart city with self-driving cars from Optimus Ride, about 4,000 homes, 10 million square feet (930,000 m²) of commercial space, green roofs, ponds, and open space including hiking and biking trails. Plans include a market in the former hangar, arch, college campus, movie theatre, hotel, and sports complex. The development is adjacent to the South Weymouth station on the Old Colony Lines of the MBTA Commuter Rail.  The development presented a bid for siting of Amazon HQ2, but did not make the finalist round of 20.
  On March 26, 2020, a fire broke out in abandoned buildings on the grounds of the former Naval Air Station,  about 1,000 feet (300 m) from the nearest housing. The buildings, formerly officer barracks, were destroyed in what officials considered a "suspicious" fire. Days later, investigators determined it was arson.
caption: Douglas A-4 Skyhawk memorial at the entrance to Shea Field
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