The owners of Glen Lennox, who are planning to redevelop the neighborhood, took longer than they should have to arrange a face-to-face meeting with residents to talk about the project.

Once they did, though, they said most of the right things.

Representatives from Grubb Properties, which has owned and managed Glen Lennox since the 1980s, met with residents Thursday. Grubb proposes to replace the neighborhood's 440 cottage-style apartments and small shopping center with a new multi-use "village." Plans are very preliminary -- the town hasn't even seen a concept plan yet -- and the developers don't expect to begin construction on the first phase for at least three years. The proposal as it stands calls for a mixture of single-family homes, apartments, condos and townhouses totaling about 885 units, plus parking decks, retail space, restaurants, maybe even a hotel and a movie theater.

That would be a dramatic change, to say the least, for the quiet neighborhood, which was built after World War II to house returning veterans. Not surprisingly, many residents are considerably less than thrilled with the prospect. The only message they really wanted to hear was that Grubb had decided not to do this after all.

Grubb, of course, didn't tell them that. But the developers did say they want to invite residents to participate in planning for the project, and they want to help those who want to stay in Glen Lennox do that.

According to the leasing office, about 8 percent of residents have lived there for five years or more. The developers should put extra effort into working with those longtime residents to help them stay in the neighborhood.

Change, especially change on this scale, is frightening and, of course, enormously disruptive. Grubb will make its job much easier by being respectful of the residents, by communicating frequently and openly, and by actively and involving residents in the process.