BROCKTON — The old Brockton Fairgrounds could see new life as a multi-use hub of housing, commercial and light industrial uses.
About eight months ago, developer Andrew Flynn reached an agreement with the Carney family, which owns the historic but now mostly abandoned property , Brockton lawyer Jim Burke told the city’s planning board on Thursday.
Flynn’s big idea? Turning the 66-acre spread into apartments, townhouses, commercial and industrial buildings and a park.
“We approach this project with a spirit of stewardship and partnership,” Flynn said in a videoconference, saying it would “catalyze longterm, sustainable economic growth.”
Burke estimated the project at between $600 million and $1 billion, all told. City Councilor Phil Griffin, who co-sponsored the zoning proposal that would undergird the project, estimated it could produce more than $12 million in taxes for the city. Brockton would need every one of those new dollars to finance downtown’s new public safety building and a possible renovation of Brockton High using $200 million from the city.