NORTON - Where some government agencies see a potential train station linking Boston to New Bedford and Fall River, David Azanow sees 26 condominiums for the over-55 crowd.

Azanow's condo project, called Harvest Farm Estates, was there first. The planning board approved the proposal encompassing about 20 acres at 225 South Worcester St. a year ago.

However, construction can't start until the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority determines which route a South Coast rail line would take and whether a Norton train station would be needed.

"Between that and the economic conditions, I don't want to put any more money into the project," said Azanow, who has owned the land with two partners for more than 10 years. "I'm just going to pay the bills, whatever bills there are."

The state Executive Office of Transportation last month recommended not pursuing the Attleboro route, which includes a rail line through Norton and Taunton. A draft study found it would be too costly and cumbersome because it would require a third railway to be built along Amtrak tracks to Boston. However, the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office and the Army Corps of Engineers have not ruled out the Attleboro route.

The Engineers held public hearings Wednesday night at Taunton High School and Tuesday night at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.

MEPA and the Engineers will decide in mid-January on the scope of the project they want state transportation officials to study, South Coast Project Manager Kristina Egan said.

The route is expected to be chosen in the fall of 2010, she said.

Azanow and other property owners along the potential train routes could be in limbo for up to 1 1/2 years.

"It's very early in the process," Egan said. "We still have five alternatives that are on the table. We don't want to get into deep discussions until we get more clarity on which way the trains will be running."

Azanow wants an answer as soon as possible.

"I'd like a fast no or a fast yes, so I can get on with my life," he said.

Azanow said the MBTA wrote him a certified letter Oct. 2 stating its potential interest in putting a Chartley commuter rail station on his land.

MBTA officials told him to expect site visits over the coming months. "I was a little ticked off, because it had taken me $80,000 and two years to get my project approved by the planning board," Azanow said.

Azanow said he had seen signs opposing the train project while driving through town. However, he knew little about the plans because he lives outside of town.

He then visited the Web site of the activist group Citizens Concerned About Tracks, and he called Egan.

Azanow said the state only wants 6 acres of his property, however, "they want the exact area that got approved for the housing."

Azanow and his partners had planned to preserve the rest of the acreage as open space, and called the train station issue "just a time delay."

"They (the MBTA) have to decide what my land is worth," he said.

Egan said she's heard a range of feedback from the owners of potential train station sites.

"I've heard everything from, 'I can't wait for you to buy my property,' to 'Keep me in the loop,' to frustration that the decisions haven't been made earlier," she said. "I'm sympathetic to all those points of view."

MICHAEL GELBWASSER covers Norton for The Sun Chronicle. He can be reached at 508-236-0439 or at mgelbwasser@thesunchronicle.com.