Robert Frazier, vice president of development for W/S Development Associates, said his company has determined that either site along Route
95 could work as a shopping center.
Choosing one will depend on an analysis of site development and land acquisition costs and -- public sentiment about a major shopping
center, he said.
"North Stonington has basically opened their arms and said 'We want you,' which is part of how we make our decision of where to
go," he said. "We want to be well-received."
Neighboring Hopkinton, by contrast, is sharply divided on the idea of a shopping center that would have big-box stores serving as
anchors.
Two competing groups -- Hopkinton First and HOPE (short for Hopkinton Organized to Promote the Economy) are looking to make their voices
heard in the Nov. 2 election. Two people active with Hopkinton First, which supports development but opposes big-box stores, are running for
the Town Council, and HOPE plans to endorse candidates after a forum next week.
"I'm certain that after the forum we'll sit down and we'll endorse the certain aspects of the candidates and endorse the people that we
think will move this town forward in the 21st century," said HOPE leader Ronald Kennedy.
Gary Williams, leader of Hopkinton First, said his group will be calling and reminding people that the town needs to do its homework
before deciding what belongs at Exit 1.
"These big boxes, they're adding hidden costs, they're not the panacea," he said.
Frazier, who presented a conceptual plan with two big-box stores and about 40 smaller stores last week to North Stonington's
Economic Development Commission, offered no time frame for a decision.
"It's not like these things just pop out of the ground and just happen," he told the North Stonington board.
W/S has purchase options for 56 acres at Exit 1 in Hopkinton and 80 to 90 acres at Exit 93 in North Stonington, less than half a
mile away. The North Stonington site, a former gravel pit, would be more expensive to develop because ledge would have to be removed
and lower areas would have to be filled to create a level surface, Frazier said.
North Stonington officials said they would welcome the project at the former gravel pit.
"It looks like somebody moon-scaped it," Marvin Chase, chairman of North Stonington's Economic Development Commission, told
Frazier.
The Hopkinton site, zoned commercial since 1971, is mostly fields and woods.