What’s Changing in Jackson Square, Weymouth: Housing, Roads and Historic Buildings

Jackson Square is changing on two tracks: a private redevelopment bringing apartments and commercial space to East Weymouth, and public investment intended to improve the infrastructure around it.

The important distinction is timing. Construction has started on the first residential phase, but the larger neighborhood plan is not finished. New buildings, restaurant plans, road improvements and historic preservation decisions should not be treated as one completed project.

Here is what the available public records and reporting establish as of October 10, 2026.

The 30-second version

• The first phase includes 42 apartments. Developer CMK says construction began in October 2025 and lists March 2027 as its estimated completion date.
• Contractor ReyCon describes a larger plan for approximately 200 homes, including 20 permanently affordable units, and about 11,000 square feet of commercial space.
• Weymouth announced $2,008,000 in state grants covering infrastructure construction, utility design and a townwide housing-plan update. Not all that money is for construction in the square.
• Traffic, parking and access around Lovell Field are part of the planning effort. A proposed street change is not the same as an operating traffic rule.
• The future of the former Rice Tavern building and a planned new home for The Venetian are also part of the story, with completion details still needing confirmation.

1. Apartments above commercial space are the biggest physical change

The redevelopment is led by local restaurateur Eric Papachristos with CMK Partners. CMK identifies Papachristos as the owner of The Venetian and says his family owns Niko's, connecting the development team to businesses already associated with Jackson Square. EMBARC is the architect, ReyCon is handling the first construction phase, and CMK identifies Northern Bank as the construction lender. 1

ReyCon's project description calls for replacing ten existing structures with four mixed-use buildings, ranging from four to five stories. Its published figures are approximately 200 residential units, 20 permanently affordable units, roughly 11,000 square feet of commercial space and off-street parking. These are full-build-out figures, not the number of apartments ready for occupancy today. 2

Earlier reporting described 12,000 square feet of commercial and restaurant space. The difference is a reason to treat project totals as source-specific planning figures rather than promise an exact final tenant mix. 3

2. The first building is underway, not the entire square

ReyCon describes its first phase as 42 apartments in a roughly 40,000-square-foot project, with planned amenities including a fitness center, coworking space, lounges and outdoor green areas. 2

CMK says construction began in October 2025 and lists March 2027 as its estimated completion. WBZ's October 2025 reporting described a four-phase project, with the first phase expected to take 12 to 18 months. Neither statement establishes a move-in date for every building in the overall redevelopment. 1 3

New England Press has not independently confirmed occupancy permits, a firm opening date or completion schedules for the remaining phases.

3. The rules allowing the redevelopment changed first

The construction follows a broader zoning effort. Weymouth Town Council approved new Jackson Square zoning in June 2022, allowing more housing and mixed-use development in the village center. The town subsequently published development applications, building decisions, site plans and a traffic-and-parking study. 4 5

The redevelopment's engineering report identifies four sites across the Jackson Square overlay district. It describes replacing existing structures with multistory mixed-use buildings, parking and access areas, new utilities, grading, landscaping and underground stormwater systems. The change is therefore more than new facades: it also involves how the properties function behind and beneath the buildings. 6

4. Roads, parking and Lovell Field access are another piece

Traffic and parking have been studied separately from the buildings themselves. Weymouth's planning materials include a transportation master plan and the developer's traffic-impact and parking documents. Earlier proposals discussed a one-way section of Commercial Street and angled parking, but residents should not assume those concepts are current traffic rules. 5 7

The town advertised Phase I, Lovell Field Transportation Improvements in 2026, with a July 20 bid deadline. The advertised scope included roadway work, drainage, landscaping and street lighting near 910–920 Broad Street. A bid notice establishes procurement activity, not proof that all the work has been awarded or completed. New England Press has not independently confirmed the award or a construction start for that public contract. 8

5. Water, sewer and drainage need attention, too

In a December 17, 2025 announcement, Weymouth broke down its Community One Stop for Growth award as follows:

• $1,650,000 for phase one of Jackson Square public infrastructure improvements.
• $323,000 for engineering and design of water and sewer infrastructure in Jackson Square.
• $35,000 for an update to Weymouth's Housing Production Plan.

The utility-design effort includes water, sewer and drainage planning for Lower Jackson Square. Design funding is not evidence that new pipes have already been installed, and the housing-plan allocation is a townwide planning item rather than another Jackson Square construction contract. 9

Stormwater deserves particular attention here. The project's engineering report identifies Herring Run Brook, its connection to the Weymouth Back River and the herring migration route toward Whitman Pond. It describes proposed underground drainage systems and the wetland and floodplain conditions that influence the work. 6

6. Restaurant plans and old storefronts are part of the transition

The new commercial space is intended to bring more activity to the square, but a planned commercial unit is not a confirmed new business opening.

WhatsOpening, a development tracker linking to Patriot Ledger reporting, reproduces a description of a planned new home for The Venetian in the first 42-apartment building. That excerpt says the phase involved demolition of the former Newcomb's Breakfast & Lunch building and two homes. New England Press could not independently access the full underlying report, so these details are attributed to the tracker rather than presented as firsthand confirmation. A move to new space should not be confused with a confirmed closure of the existing restaurant. 10

No independently verified, complete list of new tenants or construction-related business relocations was available for this article. Specific opening dates, closures and moves require confirmation from the affected businesses.

7. The Rice Tavern preservation question is not simply “saved” or “gone”

The former Rice Tavern building, later associated with Peck Funeral Home on Broad Street, became a major preservation issue. In October 2023, The Patriot Ledger reported that Weymouth's Historical Commission designated it a preferably preserved significant building, triggering a six-month demolition delay. That delay did not by itself guarantee permanent preservation. 11

WhatsOpening later reproduced a Ledger excerpt describing plans for Bristol Brothers Development Corp. to relocate at least the facade to a parcel near Washington and Pleasant streets. Preserving a facade is different from preserving the entire building in place. New England Press has not independently confirmed whether that relocation has occurred or precisely how much historic fabric will survive. 12

What residents should watch next

The next meaningful milestones are the first building's completion and occupancy approvals, a confirmed schedule for later phases, the outcome of the Lovell Field public contract, final traffic and parking arrangements, named commercial tenants and a documented outcome for the Rice Tavern building.

The redevelopment also raises a familiar village-center question: how to add housing and commercial activity without overwhelming the scale of the existing neighborhood. WBZ's reporting included residents supporting additional housing and others concerned about building size. This article does not claim those interviews represent every resident's view. 3

Bottom line: Jackson Square's transformation is underway, but it is a sequence of private building projects, public infrastructure work and preservation decisions, not a single finished makeover.

Reporting note: This overview draws on town documents, developer and contractor statements, and attributed local reporting. New England Press has not conducted a site inspection or interviews with the developer, town officials or affected businesses. Some town web pages have moved or become unavailable; the grant figures above were verified against the town announcement's indexed text. Schedules are estimates, and unresolved details are identified rather than filled in.

Cover: AI-generated conceptual illustration of village-center planning. It does not depict Jackson Square, an approved project rendering or actual construction conditions.