As developers set their sights on the 107-acre Kraft Foods parcel next to Interstate 93, Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin has proposed a new zoning district designed to attract biotech companies, clean manufacturing, offices, multifamily complexes and retail.
The overlay district would allow building heights up to 80 feet on sites that are 10 acres or larger anywhere in the city, and a mix of commercial uses and housing in a master-planned development.
Kraft Foods shut down the 400,000-square-foot gelatin and food ingredients factory in late 2015 and hired Boston-based Newmark Grubb Knight Frank to market the property to developers. The factory and bulk of developable land are on the 57-acre Woburn section, with the rest of the property located in Stoneham and Winchester.
The site’s frontage on I-93, with its nearby exit ramps on Montvale Avenue, has attracted widespread interest. The development would be one of the largest in Woburn’s history.
“This would be a game-changer for the city,” Galvin said.
The overlay district is also intended to encourage transit-oriented development along the New Boston Street and Commerce Way corridors near the heavily-used Anderson Regional Transportation Center, Galvin said. The transit center which opened in 2001 serves Amtrak, MBTA commuter rail and bus service.
A previous overlay district on Commerce Way designed to encourage redevelopment in the neighborhood failed to gain traction, Galvin said. The new zoning bylaw is designed to give more certainty to developers.
“It gives a potential developer an idea of what they can do by right and some of the uses we’re encouraging, such as biotech, mixed use and advanced manufacturing,” Galvin said.
The overlay district would allow offices, restaurants, advanced manufacturing, labs, biotech and biomedical facilities, hotels and up to 150 multifamily units by right. Up to 200 housing units would be allowed with a special permit. Maximum building heights would shrink to 45 feet within 150 feet of a residential district.
The new zoning district and rezoning of specific parcels are subject to city council approval. The council would have decision-making authority on site plans and special permits within the overlay district.
