Where will The Rock land?

Saturday

May 31, 2008 at 12:01 AMMay 31, 2008 at 4:30 AM

The Pilgrims were headed elsewhere when they landed on “The Rock.” Now the $6 million question is, where will The Rock land? Plymouth Rock Studios is considering its options with 1,000 acres out of the picture.

Emily Wilcox

The Pilgrims were headed elsewhere when they landed on “The Rock.” Now the $6 million question is, where will The Rock land?

As with the Pilgrims, the original landing place for Plymouth Rock Studios appears to have been passed over by reason of necessity.

The number of possible sites for the proposed Plymouth Rock Studios movie studio complex increased this week. Two possible sites are in neighboring towns of Plympton and Carver.

“We’ve identified 14 different sites,” Plymouth Rock Studios co-founder David Kirkpatrick said Friday morning. “But to be able to do it correctly we need a little time.”

The studio group doesn’t want to identify where these sites are located until more information about them is gathered. The Plymouth Rock Studio team has drafted a grid sheet showing the positives and negatives associated with each of the 14 sites.

“Obviously the point is, we don’t want to rush into something and just create additional issues,” Kirkpatrick added.

The trouble-packed 1,000-acre town-owned site is still listed among the 14, but massive title issues may lead to a line being drawn through it altogether.

Tuesday night, Plymouth Rock Studios development partner Bill Wynne requested selectmen take no action on June 9 Special Town Meeting articles pertaining to the 1,000-acre parcel.

It turns out clearing the titles on the 7,058 tiny campsites on the land is more than just a stumbling block for the group. Wynne explained that half the campsites have faulty titles, a reality that would prompt a lengthy legal process to clear.

Town officials and experts have, for some time, expressed the belief the title clearing could take two years to finalize. But no one knew, at that time, how tricky the process would become.

“We went in with our eyes open in relationship to the site having been reviewed in the MassDevelopment report. We always knew those sites were challenged,” Kirkpatrick said. “We have cleared 53 percent of those titles; the other 47 percent is yet to be cleared. Yet, even with that clearance, 17 sites will probably never be cleared. Even in the process of eminent domain, where the town takes it over, those parties could eventually come forward and create a claim.”

Adding another year to the approval process is not acceptable at this time, he added.

Speculation as to where in Plymouth or outside of Plymouth the group will land is rife on Plymouth’s streets. Some believe the studio group has already determined a spot outside the town’s borders. But Kirkpatrick added no fuel to that fire.

“Our intention is to make it work here,” he said. “We are analyzing a number of sites from additional private entities who have come forward in Plymouth. We’re putting together a cost benefit analysis now and we’re hoping by next Friday we’ll be able to narrow things down to a few sites.”

Plymouth Rock Studios’ interest continues to be the revitalization and restoration of Plymouth’s downtown waterfront area. The studio group wants to make this area more of a world class attraction without turning it into Orlando, Kirkpatrick said.

“Our plan is very long term,” he added. “From our standpoint, no other areas we’re considering have the branded level of Plymouth. That is very exciting and compelling to us.”