Image courtesy of Civil Design Group LLC
Owners of stalled lab development sites in Burlington and Woburn are seeking zone changes enabling them to build up to 935 housing units instead.
The Guiterrez Company of Burlington proposes expanding the town’s MBTA Communities zoning district to include a vacant parcel at 300 Summit Drive that was approved for a 235,000 square-foot office-lab building in 2020.
And in Woburn, Leggat McCall Properties proposes 504 age-restricted condominiums on a section of The Vale that was previously approved for a 1 million square-foot life science project.
Located just south of the Route 3 and Route 128 interchange in Burlington, Gutierrez’ Summit Office Park includes three commercial buildings, including the MilliporeSigma U.S. headquarters at 400 Summit Drive.
But market conditions have changed since the previous decade, when Burlington lab developers landed a series of major life science leases including Cambridge-based Broad Institute’s new Genomics Platform and Broad Clinical Labs campus at 27 Blue Sky Drive.
Lab vacancies in the Route 128 north submarket stood at 47.4 percent at the end of 2025, according to a CBRE report.
“We don’t see life science coming back for a significant amount of time,” Gutierrez Companies Vice President Scott Weiss told the Burlington Planning Board at a presentation last week.
The rezoning would apply to a 10.8-acre parcel at 300 Summit Drive.
Burlington’s MBTA Communities district encompasses parcels that are already occupied by commercial and multifamily residential buildings, limiting their potential for future housing development. One development has been proposed thus far: Nordblom Companies is proposing 57 apartments on Middlesex Turnpike, replacing two office buildings across from its 3rd Ave. mixed-use development.
The Gutierrez Companies proposal calls for 40 housing units per acre, or approximately 431 homes, and would include 46 for-sale townhouses. The Burlington Planning Board formed a subcommittee to review the proposal and make a recommendation for a potential vote at the May 11 annual town meeting.
Woburn Officials Want Affordability
In Woburn, questions about affordability loom over a proposal to swap out a stalled commercial portion of The Vale development for an over-55 housing development.
Leggat McCall Properties redeveloped the former Kraft Foods Atlantic Gelatin property off Montvale Avenue. Two initial phases included The Delaney at the Vale, which contains age-restricted and memory care units, and the Highland at the Vale townhouse community.
PulteGroup, the nation’s third largest home builder, has agreed to acquire a 33.5-acre section of the property if the rezoning is approved. The development is approved for over 1 million square feet of lab and biomanufacturing space, but has failed to attract tenant commitments.
In its place, PulteGroup is proposing 504 age-restricted home ownership condos in eight 5-story buildings.
The project would be part of Pulte’s Del Webb brand communities, which include such recent developments as the Del Webb at Chauncy Lake in Westborough. That property currently lists condos starting at just under $400,000.
The rezoning requires approval by the Woburn City Council. At a public hearing last week, Woburn Planning Board members questioned the lack of proposed income-restricted units in the project.
The project could jeopardize Woburn’s safe harbor status under Chapter 40B, Vice Chair James Callahan said. The state law allows developers to override local zoning for housing projects that include at least 20 percent income-restricted units, but exempts communities with at least 10 percent subsidized housing units.
“Right now, I will not vote for this just for that specific reason,” Callahan said at the board’s meeting Jan. 13.
Mark Mastroianni, vice president at Pulte Homes of New England, said the company is open to discussions with the board and City Council on an affordable component.
No members of the public commented during the public hearing, which has been continued to Feb. 9.
According to a fiscal analysis presented by developers, the project would deliver $3 million in new annual property taxes, and $2.8 million in annual net positive fiscal impact. A traffic study by VHB indicated the commercial-to-housing swap would reduce weekday traffic by 1,884 trips.
Another high-profile commercial property in Woburn is in play for a major retail project after a lab development was dropped.
Home Depot proposes a 135,000 square-foot home improvement store on a portion of the Showcase Cinema property. The Davis Companies of Boston previously proposed a 200,000 square-foot life science project at the 25 Middlesex Canal Park Drive property.
Image courtesy of The Gutierrez Company
