
A rendering of the proposed “Beal Commons” shows the mixed use development that Civico Greenly wants to build at the site of the old Beal School in Shrewsbury. (Photo/via Civico Greenly)
SHREWSBURY – After months of discussion in court, a challenge to Beal Commons has been dismissed.
In a 29-page ruling issued Jan. 16, Mass. Land Court Associate Justice Kevin T. Smith dismissed with prejudice a legal challenge to the Beal Commons project, affirming the Planning Board’s April 2023 decision to approve the project.
The approval
The former Maj. Howard W. Beal School – built at 1-7 Maple Avenue in 1917 – had been used as educational space for almost 100 years. The building sits in the heart of Shrewsbury Center and originally served as the town’s high school; more recently, Beal had been home to early-childhood learners, including kindergarteners.
But the 1920s-era building was becoming outdated. In 2018, Shrewsbury voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of constructing a new Beal School, and on Sept. 1, 2021, a new Maj. Howard W. Beal School opened at 214 Lake Street.
With a soon-to-be-vacant school at 1-7 Maple Avenue, Shrewsbury town leaders looked at how to best utilize the space. In 2017, the Beal Reuse Committee was formed to “undertake a comprehensive analysis of potential reuses for the Beal Early Childhood Center property,” according to the town’s website.
Through that process, Civico/Greenly Development emerged as an interested developer. Though the firm originally proposed a 65-unit, mixed-use development with approximately 8,000 square feet of retail space, Civico/Greenly ultimately settled on a scaled-down 53-unit plan with 7,000 square feet of retail space after hearing resident feedback.
Beal Commons quickly became one of the most divisive issues in Shrewsbury. Proponents saw the mixed-use design as key to the development of a walkable Town Center. Others saw the large-scale development as unseemly, too large, and not appropriate for the area.
“It seems a little overwhelming,” resident Karin Holovnia said in 2021.
During a specially-scheduled April 13, 2023, meeting, the Shrewsbury Planning Board voted to approve the site plans for Beal Commons. Steven Boulay, Joseph Thomas, Purna Rao, and Stephan Rodolakis voted to approve the plans, while Timothy Jarry was opposed. In the same meeting, the board voted to approve a series of special permits.

Taylor Bearden, right, partner at Civico, presents the modifications to Beal Commons. (Photo/Bill Gilman)
The appeal
On May 4, 2023, about two weeks after the decision, attorneys representing seven plaintiffs — Julie Ross, Barry Pulster, James Kavanagh, Elizabeth Kavanagh, David Moyer, Karin Holovnia, and Lynda Camarra — filed an appeal of the Planning Board’s decision to grant the special permits. The complaint was amended Aug. 14, 2023.
All plaintiffs abut the proposed project.
“The plaintiffs pray that the decision of the Planning Board … be annulled and that the special permits requested by [the developer] be denied,” attorney Henry J. Lane wrote on behalf of the plaintiffs in court documents dated May 2, 2023.
Chief among the plaintiffs’ concerns was the possibility of “individualized harm” caused by increased traffic on Hascall Street – the residential road which borders the proposed Beal Commons project – and headlights from cars exiting the Beal Commons parking lot.
In an effort to support their concerns with expert testimony, the neighbors called
an engineer, Paul J. Cheever, to testify. Cheever’s qualifications later became central to the case, with Smith ruling that the plaintiffs’ expert was not qualified to opine on traffic.
“Cheever did not demonstrate that he had special training or experience in traffic engineering principles and admitted that he had not prepared his own traffic impact study or analysis concerning the Beal Commons project. He even retracted his prior criticisms of [competing] traffic analyses and opinions. In fact, he agreed that Beal Commons will not cause any new or different traffic, operational, or safety-related problems in the area,” Smith wrote in his decision Jan. 16, 2025.
Smith found Cheever’s arguments with regard to headlights “unpersuasive.”
Both sides spent months exchanging documents and arguments. The case went to trial starting on June 3, 2024, with closing arguments held Nov. 5, 2024. Smith found that the plaintiffs did not have standing during his ruling on Jan. 16. In that same decision, Smith found that Beal Commons meets the Town Center District bylaw.
The plaintiffs also challenged the Town Center District bylaws themselves, calling them too vague. Smith rejected this argument as well. All told, Smith dismissed all the plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice, essentially disallowing the case from being refiled.
“The [Town Center District] bylaw is not vague in any respect. It is an exhaustive bylaw that provides more than ample guidance to the Planning Board on every aspect of a project under consideration,” he wrote.
“The Planning Board decision to grant the special permits approving the Beal Commons project was reasonable, well-founded on the facts as I have found them, and does not suffer from any legal infirmity. Judgment shall enter affirming the Planning Board’s decision and dismissing the neighbors’ appeal with prejudice,” Smith concluded.
In a statement published after the ruling, the town celebrated the court’s decision.
“The project aligns with the Town’s Master Plan and Town Center Vision by creating a walkable, pedestrian-friendly New England village center that blends residential, commercial, and civic uses,” the statement from Communications Coordinator Taylor Galusha reads. “This ruling marks a significant milestone for Shrewsbury’s efforts to revitalize the Town Center and advance smart growth principles.”
This is a breaking story and will be updated.