BOSTON -- A new outdoor shopping opened for business in Dedham, and its quick rise is a stark contrast to another big project in the area.

Legacy Place developers admitted that Wednesday's opening of the Whole Foods market had a lot to do with attracting huge crowds. Despite the still sputtering economy, developers said the project is the perfect formula for success.

"Bringing in the best grouping of stores and restaurants and organic groceries to create a special place where people would make it a part of their daily habit," said developer Brian Sciera.

NewsCenter 5's Amalia Barreda reported that just a few miles to the south, more than 100 acres of empty weed-filled land tell the story of Westwood Station. It is a much larger space than Legacy Place and is now at a standstill because of a lack of funding.

"We're working very hard to get financing for the first stage of the project. It's a challenging world to do that right now," said Westwood Station developer Jay Doherty.

Project backers said timing and bad luck, coupled with its complexity, triggered a head-on collision with the country's financial crisis. With a need to rebuild its commercial tax base the town of Westwood is holding on to hope that the project will get built.

"Thirty-one percent of our tax base was commercial and we're now down to about 15 percent. This was going to build that back up in an area that was appropriately zone for this type of development. So, it meant a lot," said Michael Jaillet, the Town Administrator.

Meanwhile, Legacy Place acknowledged that better luck was on its side.

"We got a good percentage of our leasing done before the world went crazy," said Sciera.

Westwood Station was supposed to start construction this past spring. Legacy Place, which broke ground a year earlier, is now 93 percent leased and expected to have 70 percent of its stores open by the end of September.