First meeting for Abington Business Council

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The kick-off meeting will take place Tuesday, Sept. 11 from 7:45 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Abington Ale House.

One of the meeting’s most substantial topics will be the impact of the SouthField project at the South Weymouth Naval Air Station, said Peter Forman, president and chief executive officer of the South Shore Chamber of Commerce.

The South Shore Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit business association that promotes economic development on the South Shore. The organization advocates for businesses at the local state and federal level to help small businesses become successful, Forman said.

“Virtually any business can join,” Forman said. “We’ve been developing business councils in the chamber. Our focus is to bring chamber services down to the local level for our members.

"We’re particularly interested in business councils in Abington, Rockland and Weymouth because of all of our work on the (SouthField) air base. We did not have a business council in Abington and we think it’s important because of how the region is going to change due to the air base. We want to make sure local businesses are involved in those changes.”

Forman predicts a notable boom with the development of the former air base. He said SouthField, being developed by LNR Property Corp., would create a “new town” composed of 67,000 people, who would become consumers in local shopping regions, resulting in a boom for restaurants and retailers. 

He said the new population would bring 3,000 new employees into the area who would contribute to the work force and buy homes.  

“The stimulus to the region is going to be very strong,” Forman said. “I think it can be particularly strong to businesses in the immediate area who can take advantage of those new consumers.

"We want to involve those businesses in an association and help give them a voice as public issues come up. We see a lot of growth potential. We want to make sure we’re hearing from those businesses that are there.”

“We’re pretty active with both the Tri Town Development Corporation and LNR, the master developers of the air base,” Forman said.

Other meeting topics may include the completion of the Greenbush Commuter Rail Line and the probability of a casino on the South Shore, and its possible local impact.