Exclusive: Is a Massive New Development Coming to Hanover?
Commercial real estate listings circulating online are promoting a potential 1 million-square-foot development known as “Hanover Interchange,” but town officials say no formal plans have been filed and no development proposal is currently under review.
An official at Hanover Town Hall confirmed that the town has not received any building plans, permit applications, zoning requests, or variance filings related to the property referenced in the listings.
The property is being marketed through commercial real estate listings by Eastern Retail Properties, a Braintree-based firm. Calls to the company seeking comment were not returned.
According to the listings, Hanover Interchange is described as a “New Master Plan Development” with potential uses including a corporate campus, last-mile distribution, and other commercial configurations. The listings highlight the site’s location at the intersection of Route 3 and Route 53, emphasizing visibility, access, and proximity to a densely populated trade area. The materials also state that multiple uses would be allowed, depending on configuration.
A rendering of the project posted online depicts buildings up to five stories in height.
The property encompasses more than 65.5 acres across at least four parcels. Public records show the parcels are owned by several real estate trusts, all of which list the same Norwell address. That address is associated with Unicorn Realty.
An employee of Unicorn Realty confirmed that the company owns the property.
The listings indicate the site could accommodate up to 1 million square feet of development. If built at that scale, the project would be approximately 36.5 percent larger than the total floor area of Hanover Crossing, one of the town’s largest existing commercial developments.
The property abuts several residential neighborhoods, including Woodland Drive, Howland Park, and Blue Spruce Lane.
A conceptual site map included in the listings outlines potential points of access to the property. Those include Woodland Drive; an entrance through Route 53 via the property currently occupied by Living Hope Foursquare Church; and Old Webster Street, which runs adjacent to the parking lot of Boston Interiors on Webster Street.
One of the potential uses envisioned for Hanover Interchange noted in listings is last-mile distribution, a logistics term referring to the final stage of moving goods from a central hub or warehouse to their end destination, typically the customer or a retail location.
Traffic and environmental research shows that the rise in last-mile deliveries, driven by e-commerce demand, can lead to more frequent vehicle trips, higher local congestion and elevated emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants.
Accoding to town officials who spoke with South Shore Times, without a formal application, the town has not evaluated whether a project of this scale would comply with existing zoning or what approvals would be required. Any large commercial development would likely require multiple layers of review, including site plan approval, potential special permits, traffic and environmental studies, and public hearings before town boards
Town officials emphasized that commercial real estate listings do not represent an approved project or an active proposal before the town.
This story is developing.