Image courtesy of Supreme Development
A largely undeveloped parcel near Route 128 is in play for a 1.5 million square-foot mixed-use redevelopment being led by Dedham-based Supreme Companies.
The development team has presented two scenarios to Dedham officials for a mix of rental housing and commercial space with a large lab and R&D component.
Known as “The Campus at 128,” the 57-acre site includes the Church of St. John of Damas building near the junction of Routes 135 and 128, and undeveloped land.
Both scenarios call for 644 apartments and 870,000 square feet of commercial space, but one version includes a 100,000 square-foot hotel. The rest of the commercial space would be lab and R&D uses.
An attorney for Supreme Development said the project timeline calls for a potential groundbreaking in two years.
“Why now? As we all know, the office buildings as well as the life science and biotech market has slowed down.” attorney Peter Zahka of Dedham told the Planning Board during a preliminary presentation in May. “As we go forward, this project will probably take two years to permit, and the experts we’ve been meeting with have advised us the market will be back as strong as ever around that time.”
The vacancy rate in the Boston suburban lab market was 32 percent at midyear, according to CBRE.
The development team includes Supreme Companies’ subsidiary Petruzziello Properties. The site includes nine parcels including the church property, three single-family homes and undeveloped land.
Petruzziello Properties’ current development projects include The Block at 22 Everett St. in Westwood, a 160-unit apartment complex with 12,000 square feet of retail space, which broke ground in fall 2024.
Developers expect to submit a formal proposal later this year.
Zahka also described the developers’ plans for public outreach, which include neighborhood meetings, a web site and an email list.
“We want this process to be open and transparent. However, we will not engage with a Facebook dialogue,” he said.
Planned commercial developments are allowed on some sites over 10 acres near Route 128 in Dedham by special permit under a 2022 zoning change designed to attract more life science development. The regulation requires at least 60 percent of square footage to be devoted to lab or R&D space.
The site is located in a zoning district that currently allows single-family homes, planned commercial developments, assisted living, child care, hospitals and nursing homes. A residential subdivision would allow development of up to 42 single-family homes, Zahka said.
A fiscal analysis by Fougere Planning & Development estimates the project would generate $9.5 million to $10 million in local revenues.
