Hollywood East-The Details

After months of false starts and endless rumors, Plymouth Rock studios is beginning to provide details as to what they plan to build on the site of the Waverly Oaks Golf Club in Plymouth. At a community meeting last night at Plymouth South High School, officials of the Plymouth Planning Board and The Studio described in broad brush terms the construction of 14 sound stages, administrative buildings, a ten acre "back lot" and a hotel/amenity cluster, all to be built around the existing Waverly Oaks clubhouse which is to remain in place.

One of the major concerns about the proposed facility is its access from Long Pond Road. The proposed solution is to cut a new access road in from Clark Road near the south bound exit ramp from Route 3 (aka, the Freeway). This road would run north along Route 3, behind the middle school and enter the site from the south. It would be used during construction and eventually used for school bus traffic as well as studio access and would go a long way towards taking traffic off of Long Pond Road. What it will do to the area surrounding Exit 3, remains to be seen. The aerial photo below shows the 200 acres of Town conservation land between the school complex and Clark Road through which the access road will pass.



Approval for the road must be secured from the Wildlands Trust as well as the Mass Highway Department. The exact configuration at Clark Road will be a major challenge to the design engineers and is sure to become a major concern for local residents. While a new dedicated on/off ramp from Route 3 to the studio might be a long term solution, The new access road is being proposed as the immediate access remedy. According to Plymouth resident and studio consultant Kevin O'Reilly, the access road is the key to the project. If it is not approved, the studio would have to seek an alternative site.

During the meeting a number of studio's neighbors expressed concern about any noise and light that might be emitted by the studio. While the studio execs attempted to characterize the facility as being as "quiet as a library", there will be procedures for notification of residents if excessive noise is expected. just in case? Most of the residents voicing questions and concerns seemed to live off Long Pond Road. But as the following aerial photo shows, some of the neighborhoods on the east side of Rte 3 will also be in close proximity to the studio.



In order for the studio to secure Town Meeting Approval this fall, they must supply the Planning Board with sufficient project detail, especially given that they are applying for an "as-of right", or "allowed use" approval which would eliminate the requirement that the studio come back to the Town under the special permit process for specific use. This sounds a lot like Carte Blanche approval and it puts extra pressure on the Planning Board to determine exactly what will be built.

The benefits of the new facility start with the prospect of up to 1,000 construction jobs during development followed by up to 2,000 jobs as movies are produced at the facility. While the state will provide a 25% tax credit for production related expenses, the town will receive the benefit of property tax income. These benefits cannot be dismissed out of hand.

It is clear that this project has a lot of support in Plymouth and it could well be a positive addition to the Town. But the devil is in the details. It all starts tonight at 7:00 at the Town Hall, or on a television near you. It's sure to be a long boring process, but one to which residents might want to pay a lot of attention.