Developer drops plan for air station development

WEYMOUTH — South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp. has decided to back away from the proposed $250 million retail and entertainment center for the former Weymouth Naval Air Station. The plan submitted the Mills Corp. of Arlington, Va., a shopping center owner and operator, which had agreed to pay $23.7 million for the site. Mills planned to open the center in the third quarter of 2004, the Boston Globe reported. The plan had been aggressively opposed by civic groups in neighboring communities that objected to anticipated traffic problems and environmental effects. State regulators raised environmental questions in October and ordered a comprehensive review of the plan. A Tri-Town spokesman said the organization would now examine other possible uses for the 1,450 acre site which the Navy abandoned three years ago.