The owner of a potential new downtown Malden ballpark says he is working to buy the final three land parcels needed to create a 7-acre site.
Alex Bok, president of the Boston Baseball Field of Dreams LLC, already is in negotiations with National Grid to build on the downtown Malden site. The next step is to persuade three other businesses on the proposed ballpark site to sell out and move. While Bok and the city do have the power of eminent domain on their side, it doesn’t sound like either wants to invoke it; Bok says he’ll be offering above-market prices for the land.
Which won’t happen any time soon; Bok thinks it will take a year to acquire the land needed for the ballpark, which means construction would start next April or May if things go OK, with a 2014 opening down the road. The projected cost of the ballpark project is $50 million; it’s expected Bok will pursue an independent Atlantic League franchise once he’s closer to an actual groundbreaking. While Bok has no agreement for a team at this time, he and his consultant, Matt Perry, have reached out to the circuit.
RELATED STORES: Malden ballpark plan on path for preliminary approval; New ballpark pitched in Malden; Archives: Sept. 3-9, 2006; Archives: March 5-11, 2006
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