Brockton hopes 40R district will renew downtown

September 28, 2007

Seeking to spur mixed-use development in its downtown, Brockton has created the largest Chapter 40R district in the state, covering 60 acres.

The 40R district, approved by the city council in July, entitles Brockton to $600,000 in incentive payments and potentially several times that amount in bonus payments based on the number of housing units eventually built within the district.

Brockton’s city planner, Nancy Stack Savoie, said that creating the 40R district enabled the city to supplant zoning regulations that made it difficult for mixed-use development to be approved.

“40R is really an economic development tool,” Stack Savoie said. “We look at it as a way to spur private investment by establishing a clear and predictable permitting mechanism.”

With an initial $65,000 incentive payment from the state, Brockton hired Boston-based Concord Square Development Company to create the overlay district. With the department’s limited staffing, Stack Savoie said, it would have been very difficult for the city to accomplish the task on its own.

In the 1980s, a water shortage in Brockton led to a state-imposed ban on new hook-ups and thwarted new construction for many years. While water shortages are no longer a problem, Stack Savoie said, the city is still seeking to catch up after missing out on an economic boom period.

The 40R district, divided into five sectors to account for different characteristics within the 60 acres, includes a former supermarket that has been shuttered for several years as well as the city’s transit center. Stack Savoie said the city plans this fall to start marketing the district to potential developers.

Written by MMA Associate Editor Mitch Evich