William Shelton, Mystic View's president, dismissed Simley's claims, saying his 250-member organization has sought opportunities to mediate the stalemate, without success. "I guess that's the way the system works in Massachusetts - you can take things to court and hold them up indefinitely." "A handful of people are able to ties things up in court," he said. Simley also expressed frustration about the rights abutters have to file suit. The organization has lobbied for a village-style development at Assembly Square with small stores, office space, housing, and parks at the waterfront parcel. Without naming them, Simley blamed the Mystic View Task Force for the company's decision to end its effort to replace its 145,000-square-foot store on Mystic Avenue. Since then, the plan has been the subject of a lawsuit by a community group that alleged the store would violate city zoning regulations. Home Depot's decision ends a contentious battle that began in 1999 when the home improvement chain proposed to construct a store on the nearby mall site adjacent to Kmart.
How can you deal with people like that? We washed our hands of it." "But we were dealing with an intransigent opposition that was repulsed by the idea of compromise. "We had a plan that accomplished just about everything anyone would have wanted to revitalize the mall," said John Simley, a spokesman for the Atlanta-based company.
SOMERVILLE - The five-year battle to build a Home Depot at Assembly Square ended yesterday as the nation's largest do-it-yourself chain abandoned its proposal for a 173,435-square-foot store and garden center at the failed mall.
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