"This site needs to be developed," said John H. Clifford, a Mission Hill resident. "The stores will be great. It will be nice to clean it up."

But even after years of community planning, some residents say they still question certain aspects of the plan.

"Traffic and parking are the main concerns," says one resident. "It's already a very busy area."

If the plan goes ahead, the parking garage will provide space for 255 cars with an additional 130 spaces outside.

Others doubt the feasibility of transforming the undeveloped land on th site into a park. According to Hoffman, the development group is investing $500,000 into creating and maintaining the planned park, with the city of Boston offering $75,000 more from a grant fund.

Opponents say that is not enough to actually maintain the park, and that they doubt that NHS will keep its commitments to the land.

But while some object to the sale, Buehrens says, on the whole, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

"I don't think that in any community you'll ever find unanimous opinions, but by in large, over the course of a number of years, the general idea of redeveloping the ledge site has been a very popular idea, and I think in general this project has the support of the majority of the Mission Hill community," he says.