Wegmans Food Markets' plans for its first Hub supermarket may be cheered by foodies, but they are raising concerns that the grocery chain's cultlike following could worsen traffic for Fenway drivers already facing rush hour gridlock, Red Sox games and a three-year Muddy River drainage reconstruction project.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced the high-end grocery chain is coming to Boston yesterday. Samuels & Associates is expected to propose an expansion of its 949,000-square-foot Landmark Center to accommodate the new grocery store in the retail and office development at Park Drive and Brookline Avenue.
"We would hope the city, developer and Wegmans would work together to figure out a good traffic plan that wouldn't exacerbate traffic problems," said Sarah Horsley of the Fenway Community Development Corp. "That location can be challenging because of the intersection with the mall there ... and the (nearby) Longwood Medical Center."
Nearby Fenway Park hosts 81 home games between April and September, plus summer concerts, drawing heavy foot and vehicle traffic. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' three-year Muddy River project will require extensive rerouting and narrowing of traffic lanes around Landmark Center. But project manager Michael Keegan said many of the travel restrictions are planned for this summer, probably well before a Wegmans could be built. "The critical time will be in July when we'll be working in the Landmark area," he said. "If we can do that, we'll be good."
Samuels and New York-based Wegmans were mum yesterday about the store's size and target date.
"It would be premature to have those details," Wegmans spokeswoman Jo Natale said. "Discussions with the developer are under way."
The Boston Redevelopment Authority said discussions about traffic will wait until plans are filed.
Samuels spokeswoman Diana Pisciotta declined comment on any expansion of Landmark Center, which Samuels bought for $453 million in 2011 from the Abbey Group, which also had floated plans to enlarge it.
Hingham resident Gretchen Kinger, who now regularly travels across the state with her friends to the Wegmans in Northboro, said about the news yesterday: "I'm so happy. ... Parking will not be as easy, but it will be a lot closer."
Fenway Civic Association president Bill Richardson said he welcomes Wegmans and doubts it will lead to further congestion. Fenway residents have the lowest rate of car ownership in the city.
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