Attleboro Sells 110 Acres in Industrial Park for Development of Sports Complex

The Attleboro Redevelopment Authority along with the City Council and Mayor Kevin Dumas announced Thursday afternoon that it had sold 110-acres in the Attleboro Industrial Park to a group committed to building a multifaceted indoor/outdoor sports complex and hotel.

The $2.3 million deal will move the ARA out of the red.

"We are absolutely thrilled because this means, it will mean among other things, we will be out of debt," ARA Chairperson Judy Robbins said.

The land sold to a development group currently known as the "Attleboro Sports Complex."

Developer David Boucher said he and his partner Joe Fitzpatrick will look to create a 212,000 square foot indoor complex, outdoor turf fields and a hotel. He said the project is fully financed by an anonymous backer.

The project will be split into four phases, the first of which will be the creation of the indoor complex to include two hockey rinks, four basketball courts and a full-sized indoor soccer field. Boucher said he hopes that phase will be complete and the indoor complex will be open by Fall, 2014.

Phase Two will include outdoor soccer fields and phase three will include outdoor softball and cricket fields. Phase Four, which will probably be developed in conjunction with the other phases, will be the construction of a hotel.

"That will promote tournaments but also activity and excitement around the city," Boucher said.

Boucher said his background is in asset management, while Fitzpatrick's background is Real Estate Development.

"My background is managing pension assets," He said. "[Fitzpatrick's] background for the past 15 years is developing large scale, commercial projects. That’s why I brought him onto our team. He certainly understands this process and everything it takes to construct one of these and make sure it makes money to know that it stays open."

Originally Boucher - a North Attleboro resident originally from Melrose - was looking to build in North Attleboro, but plans fell through. The size of the property - approximately 17 acres in the North Attleboro Industrial Park - wasn't adequate, he said.

"The open space requirement with a smaller parcel of land became very costly, so we believe because of the size of this property, we’ll be able to develop it more efficiently," he said.

He was approached this summer by the ARA's Rick Correia.

"One day, one of my partners got an email saying 'hey what do you think about this?'," Boucher said. "I read it and I said I think its worth our time to go sit down and meet."

Correia's email paid off and the process moved quickly.

Boucher said he hopes to set up a website to update community members on design plans and the building timeline as the project moves forward.