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New zoning regulations awaiting final approval in Lexington would allow greater development densities while requiring new outdoor amenity spaces and accessibility for pedestrians and bicyclists. Image courtesy town of Lexington
Lexington is taking steps to make life science development more attractive amid rising competition from nearby suburbs and expanding clusters in Boston, Somerville and Watertown.
The town plans to nearly double maximum building heights to 115 feet on Hartwell Avenue and a section of Bedford Street near Route 128, while offering a buffet of development-friendly zoning changes designed to transform the aging office park corridor into an amenity-rich destination known as the Hartwell Innovation Park (HIP).
“We have so much land to work with, but we have to reposition some of the existing 1-story commercial office space for the life science users so we can meet the demand that’s already there,” said Sandhya Iyer, Lexington’s director of economic development.
Another prime development parcel could surface steps from Route 128 in Needham, where town officials are proposing to rezone 15 acres occupied by WCVB-TV and the Muzi Ford dealership, potentially paving the way for up to 866,000 square feet of mixed-use development.
The rezoning fell 22 votes short of a needed two-thirds supermajority at a 2019 town meeting. But prospects for passage are brightening under the state’s new Housing Choice law, which reduced the threshold to approve zoning changes to a simple majority.
“This opens the opportunity for Needham to rethink it and make it a true mixed-use development,” said Greg Reibman, president of the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce.
Fast-Track Schedule for Developers
Lexington is home to approximately 30 biotech and pharmaceutical companies with a combined workforce of 3,300 employees, according to town data, but only 6 percent of Lexington’s real estate is zoned for commercial use.
Much of the town’s nearly 9 million-square-foot commercial inventory consists of low-density office and R&D buildings along Hartwell and Hayden Avenues west of Route 128, many completed from the 1960s through the 1980s.
As town officials seek to keep pace with emerging urban life science clusters across Greater Boston, a series of zoning changes are designed to encourage higher density and mixed-use projects.
Spanning 260 acres, the rezoning eliminates maximum floor area ratios, shrinks minimum lot sizes from 3 acres to 20,000 square feet, and reduces minimum setbacks to encourage a smart growth approach to a new “Hartwell Innovation Park.” The changes also add a fast-track permitting schedule, designed to approve projects in 60 days or less.
While allowing higher densities, the changes also require 15 percent of the developable lot area to include outdoor amenity spaces such as courtyards and roof decks. And they require pedestrian and bicycle paths.
Lexington is seeking to maintain its status as a leading suburban life science cluster with higher-density rezoning of 260 acres on Hartwell Avenue and Bedford Street. The commercial corridor continues to attract demand for office and lab space including a 220,000-square-foot development under construction at 91 Hartwell Ave. Image courtesy of DiMella Shaffer
Approved at a November town meeting, the changes await final approval from Attorney General Maura Healey.
“The Hartwell Avenue corridor is pretty tight right now, reflecting how strong the life science market is, and unlocking additional development is only going to be good for the cluster,” said Alex Plaisted, a vice president at CBRE. “Given where we are in the world today, there’s a high likelihood that will be labs rather than office space.”
Four commercial developers have contacted town officials about future projects, Iyer said, declining to name the firms because formal applications haven’t been submitted.
Several properties appear to have significant potential to be redeveloped with greater density along Hartwell Avenue.
Boston Properties’ 17 and 32 Hartwell Ave. span nearly 12 acres and are currently occupied by a 30,000-square-foot R&D building and a 68,000-square-foot office building that were both completed in the mid-1960s. And a 220,000-square-foot office-lab complex is scheduled for completion late this year at 91 Hartwell Ave., a 15-acre property owned by Meridian Lexington Owner LLC.
Needham Weighs Future of Highland Ave.
In Needham, a 15-acre district could yield nearly 1 million square feet of development in coming years. The parcels near the interchange of Highland Avenue and Route 128 include the Muzi Ford dealership and the WCVB-TV headquarters.
A previous attempt to rezone the properties failed to gain a two-thirds majority at a 2019 town meeting, despite comments by officials that the parcels could be redeveloped as a distribution center for Amazon under the current zoning.
Steve Adams
Now, the Needham planning board is reviving the proposal. A planning study by Boston-based architects Studio Enee calls for mixed-use rezoning that would allow nearly 660,000 square feet of mixed-use development by right, or 866,340 square feet and up to 240 multifamily units by special permit.
Needham Select Board Chair Marianne Cooley said the parcels have been identified as a key focus of planning efforts for five years.
“Those parcels are in an area of town that is clearly ready for redevelopment. The planning studies have emphasized mixed-use, and that creates a range of possibilities depending upon who the developer is.”
