Groundbreaking for controversial mall

SMITHFIELD — They held a groundbreaking recently for The Crossing at Smithfield,
a controversial shopping center that is not expected to get its first tenant for
a year, a Home Depot. The mall, being developed by W/S Smithfield Associates of
Chestnut Hill, Mass. will be built on an 80-acre site at the juncture of Routes
44 and 295, a location that the builder hopes will bring shoppers from Rhode Island,
Massachusetts and Connecticut. Apple Valley Mall is about two miles down Route
44. The groundbreaking had been delayed for nearly two years as a group of citizens
opposed the commercial development in a suburban town, bringing the matter to
court and making it a political issue. The developer said he anticipates a shopping
center with some 15 stores and has already has secured Home Depot, Target, Barnes
& Noble, Old Navy, Staples, Linens’ n Things and The Gap.