Economic development officials want to attract more life science and advanced manufacturing companies to boost commercial tax bases on the Route 3 North corridor, which has struggled to replace departed office tenants. 

In Chelmsford, Thermo Fisher Scientific in a partnership with Spaulding & Slye Investments this month acquired a vacant 114,000-square-foot office building at 220 Mill Road for $5 million for a $40-million expansion project, effectively doubling the equipment manufacturer’s nearby footprint at 19-21 Alpha Road. The facility will open in late 2021 and increase production of chromatography resins, spokeswoman Charlotte McCormack said.  

The project gives momentum to the town’s efforts to promote itself as an affordable landing spot for life science, flex and R&D tenants, said Lisa Marrone, Chelmsford’s director of business development. 

“That has been a long-term empty building, and establishing more life science presence is very significant,” Marrone said. “Thermo Fisher is an incredible success for creating an identity and additional business attraction.” 

As the outer suburbs try to reinvent decades-old commercial districts for 21st century economic patterns, a market analysis by Camoin Assoc. identified several sectors that could drive demand for commercial space in Chelmsford: advanced manufacturing, information technology, professional and technical services and life science. 

Office vacancies have lingered above 30 percent since 2017 in the towns of Chelmsford and Billerica, according to Colliers International data. The local office market has yet to recover from the 2017 departure of Kronos Systems to Lowell’s Cross Point tower, leaving behind 300,000 square feet in buildings on Route 129. Average asking rents for office and lab space have declined from $17.90 per square foot in 2017 to $16.93 at midyear 2020. The existing inventory is dominated by decades-old single-use buildings that lack amenities and proximity to restaurants, retailers and hotels. 

Amid uncertainty about the future prospects for traditional office demand, economic development officials say advanced manufacturing could be the next demand driver for suburban commercial real estate.

Landlords as Bystanders 

While longtime local residents may remember the outer suburbs as tech powerhouses that were once home to industry leaders such as Wang Laboratories, the urbanization trend points to the need for different real estate strategies, said Aaron Jodka, managing director of research and client services for Colliers International in Boston. 

“This is going to be a challenge for a number of communities out on Route 495 in the years ahead,” he said. “How do they position themselves for industries that may have changed? A GMP [good manufacturing practice] facility may not employ as many people as an office building, but at the same time it’s a new growth driver.” 

Complicating efforts to promote Chelmsford’s 623-acre commercial district, the Cross Roads at Route 129, fragmented ownership has made landlords reluctant to make more than minor investments to properties. 

“The Cross Roads suffers from the bystander effect, wherein individuals may make incremental upgrades to their properties to their own properties but are waiting for others to invest in a transformational project that could benefit the park as a whole,” Camoin Assoc. wrote in their analysis. 

That’s left things to local officials and the Middlesex 3 economic partnership to take the lead promoting the region and updating zoning to make sites more desirable to developers. 

In 2016, Chelmsford rezoned the Cross Roads district for mixed-use development in an attempt to attract more investment, including amenities such as restaurants. The town recently awarded a $100,000 grant to sandwich chain Pressed Cafe to offset equipment and tenant fitout costs for a planned location at 330 Billerica Road, Marrone said. 

Billerica residents turned down a similar proposal in 2018 that would have allowed mixed-use development at its 130-acre Technology Park off Concord Road, seeking to fill nearly 1 million square feet of office vacancies and unlock additional development potential including multifamily housing. 

Amid opposition to housing density, the proposal failed to win the needed two-thirds majority at a 2018 town meeting, and there are no immediate plans to revive the measure, Town Manager John Curran said. 

Multifamily Conversions Still in Vogue 

While job creation is a top goal of local officials, developers are making it clear that multifamily housing is their preferred bet for some of the available local building sites. More than 900 units are proposed in Billerica and Chelmsford across three properties. 

New Hampshire-based Brady Sullivan Properties is considering a housing development at the 21-acre former Mercury Systems campus on Riverneck Road in Billerica, Marrone said. The property includes two office buildings totaling 185,000 square feet and five undeveloped acres. 

Steve Adams

The developer is considering up to 290 housing units through conversion of 80,000 square feet of office space and new construction, Marrone said. Brady Sullivan executives did not return messages seeking comment. 

Across town at the former University of Massachusetts-Lowell west campus, Houston-based multifamily developer Hanover Co. is proposing 400 units of multifamily housing. The 34-acre property at 255 Princeton St. was originally acquired last year from the state by Lexington developer Alice Cui, who has partnered with Hanover Co. to propose a Chapter 40B development. Currently under review by Chelmsford officials, the plans call for 58 units of age-restricted rental housing and 342 apartments including 42 income-restricted units. 

And in Billerica, RD Management of New York is seeking approval for 230 apartments at its Shops at Billerica, a retail property anchored by Market Basket.