The Town of Westwood has filed legal action against a key player involved in the handing over the deed for Westwood Station to Eastern Development, officials said this week.

Eastern Development agreed this past fall to purchase the mortgage note for Westwood Station that is currently held by Anglo Irish Bank.

But because of the number of conditions that need to be satisfied in the agreement before closing, the actual purchase has not yet taken place.

One of those conditions was that Commonfund Realty Investors, LLC, follow through on an agreement to transfer the deed of the property to Eastern Development. But Commonfund still has yet to comply. 

As a result, Westwood officials felt the need to take action to protect the town's interests.  As such, the town this week filed legal actions in Norfolk Superior Court, as it seeks outstanding taxes and demands on escrowed cash and cash guaranties for the restoration of University Avenue, which remains under a construction, with traffic using a by-pass road.

"The problem is that we don't have any real indication of when new owners could proceed with development," said town project manager Chris McKeown. "Fundamentally, this is an action taken by the town to protect our interests.  We have not yet exercised our rights with the belief that a development going forward is in the town's best interest.  At some point, we can no longer wait; and that point is now."

Meanwhile, New England Development and Eastern Development remain fully-committed to the project, McKeown said, but until the issue with Commonfund is resolved, it is unclear when the actual closing will take place.