Owner Uncertain About Future of Landing Restaurant Project

The owners of The Landing Pub and Ultimate Pizza in Weymouth Landing may not move ahead with a plan to replace the 80-year-old building with a new restaurant and retail stores.

Co-owner Harry Sarras said in interviews this week that quotes he has seen from contractors since receiving permission from the town to build on the site have been in some cases double what he anticipated, placing into jeopardy his ability to fund the project.

Behind the higher cost projections is the Smelt Brook, a protected waterway that runs between Pond Meadow Park to the Monatiquot River. In the Landing, the brook passes through a system of underground culverts, including at Sarras's building.

Rainbow smelt fish swim from the ocean into Smelt Brook to spawn. A $1.8 million protection project was completed in 1976 to combat flooding in the area, and the Army Corps of Engineers is currently working on a rehabilitation plan.

Planning Board members attached 50 conditions to their approval of the 95-seat restaurant and retail project last year. They included delivery restrictions and a requirement that the sidewalk be repaired to its original condition, but mainly focused on protecting the brook.

The Conservation Commission also attached 15 conditions to their approval, Sarras said. Because of the delicate nature of construction around the brook, contractors have proposed prices that would add $500,000 to the cost Sarras originally estimated.

"It's been a nightmare," Sarras said.

Christine Stickney, the town's planning director, said she is not surprised that the quotes have come in high, as contractors typically take greater care with such complex projects.

"With something fragile like that they are going to take the extra measures," Stickney said.

Typically, developers have two years to use permits issued by the town, but a new law that applies to this project gives Sarras additional time to act, Stickney said. She also suggested he may be able to find funding assistance through grants or small business loans.

Sarras said he has not decided whether to proceed or not, and so he was not able to provide a potential construction timeline.