WEYMOUTH — August 27, 2026 — Following years of regulatory hurdles, zoning overhauls, and land transactions, master developers New England Development and Brookfield Properties presented detailed plans for the Phase 1 horizontal infrastructure at the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station, announcing that roadway and utility construction will formally break ground this September.
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At a packed pre-construction informational meeting held at Chapman Middle School, the Southfield Redevelopment Authority (SRA) Board of Directors and the master development team laid out the construction roadmap for the initial phase of the 1,400-acre site. The milestone comes after six years of permitting, the securing of a comprehensive MEPA certificate, a critical Conservation Management Permit for state-protected eastern box turtles, special state legislation enacted in November 2025, and the formal acquisition of the land from Washington Capital on June 30, 2026.
John Twohig and Paul Cincotta of New England Development detailed the Phase 1 scope, which spans roughly 1.5 miles of roadway and utility backbone entirely within the Weymouth portion of the property. The project includes realigning Shea Drive behind the Shea Memorial Grove jet display, extending the roadway past the former Navy gym, connecting directly into the roundabout on Delahunt Parkway near the Mass Ave / MassLight area, and continuing to a temporary turnaround at the Weymouth town line.
In addition to roadway alignment, the work entails comprehensive subsurface utilities: water, drainage, electric, gas, a new Phase 1 stormwater detention basin feeding into French’s Stream, and two sanitary sewer pump stations connecting to force mains on Route 18. The developers confirmed that the contract for Phase 1 was bid exclusively to union contractors, with a formal contract award slated for next week and active construction running for approximately one year.
“We’ve had over 200 meetings on this project over the last five-plus years... We’re going to award the first contract to do the infrastructure that we’re going to show you tonight, and that’s been a long time coming.” — John Twohig, New England Development (0:03:58)
Dave Pellegri of the development team’s construction division outlined the upcoming Construction Management Plan, emphasizing strict mitigation controls to protect abutters and existing on-site neighborhoods. Heavy construction vehicles will be barred from cutting through existing residential streets such as Snowbird Avenue and Trotter Drive, utilizing designated access corridors from Route 18 and Route 228 instead. The team also committed to dust control measures, designated staging yards placed away from existing homes, and a dedicated project website for regular detour and scheduling updates.
