The Hamilton Company hopes to build 164 apartments where labs were originally planned in place of this series of Union Square commercial buildings. Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff
Redevelopment of the 107-acre former Atlantic Gelatin factory near Interstate 93 was envisioned as a flagship new commercial growth cluster for the city of Woburn after Kraft Foods shuttered the facility a decade ago.
But this month, Woburn officials gave Pulte Homes permission to pursue a different course. Jettisoning the potential to build office and life science buildings, they rezoned over 33 undeveloped acres for 504 age-restricted condominiums.
“Is this perfect? No, but I don’t see anything else that has come close to it,” City Councilor Jeffrey Dillon said before voting in favor of the over-55 plan.
Changes of direction also are on the table in Burlington and Somerville, where commercial growth has largely stalled and left big development parcels in limbo. Similar debates are playing out in all of the communities.
Developers warn that sites could remain stagnant for years, and that housing would provide a net fiscal benefit, albeit less than commercial projects would have generated. With Greater Boston’s lab vacancy rate rising slightly to 34.7 percent in the first quarter, according to Colliers, prospects for development remain historically low.
And local officials fret whether they are permanently sacrificing opportunities to add jobs and commercial tax revenues.
Former Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin, who was in office when the mixed-use plan was approved for the Kraft Foods site, criticized the City Council for abandoning future commercial growth.
“For [developers] to come in now and say, `The lab space has gone away and it’s never coming back,’ these cycles come and go,” Galvin said in an interview. “But like all cycles, it will come back in some fashion.”
In a letter to councilors, Galvin said the city should use excess levy capacity under Proposition 2 ½ to make up budget shortfalls, rather than counting on income from the residential project.
“We are permanently surrounding our highest-value and tax generating land during a market dip: selling low,” Galvin wrote.
Two residential projects, The Delaney at The Vale and Highland at Vale, were completed in the earlier phases of the redevelopment.
Union Square master developer US2 built its first two buildings in recent years, including the 25-story Prospect apartment tower. The Hamilton Company wants to follow suit with hosing on a large site across the street including this Dunkin Donuts location. Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff
Hamilton Company Releases Fiscal Study
Local developers are seeking approval for hundreds of housing units on sites originally envisioned for life science companies in Burlington and Somerville.
The Hamilton Company is seeking to rezone a Union Square property for a 164-unit residential project.
The Allston-based developer released a fiscal impact study this week that concluded its proposed One Union Square would generate $1 million in gross annual property tax revenues. After subtracting municipal expenses, the project would generate $652,049 in net annual fiscal benefits, Fougere Planning and Development estimates.
The Hamilton Company previously proposed a lab building on the site before submitting the rezoning petition in February. The half-acre site is located at the corner of Somerville Avenue and Prospect Street, and contains a Dunkin’ Donuts, surface parking and a single-story commercial building. In recent years, Union Square master developer US2 built its first two buildings, including the 25-story Prospect apartment tower.
While many approved multifamily projects also have stalled in recent years, Hamilton Company CEO Jameson Brown said the Somerville project appears viable.
“We already own the property and we are a private company raising private capital to build it,” Brown said. “We have been at this for a long time. The lab building, if we would have built it in 2022, would have been more profitable, but markets change and the site is underutilized.”
The proposal is under review by the Somerville Planning Board and ultimately would need to be approved by the City Council.
An architect’s rendering of Burlington’s Summit Drive business park, where developer Gutierrez Companies recently withdrew a proposal for up to 431 apartments and condominiums on a site approved for a stalled life science project. Image courtesy of The Gutierrez Companies
Summit in Burlington Shelves Proposal
Last month, The Gutierrez Company withdrew a rezoning petition for 300 Summit Drive in Burlington, a nearly 11-acre parcel where it had lobbied to build 431 apartments and condos.
The property is located at the end of an office park driveway near the cloverleaf of Routes 3 and 128, and was previously approved for a 235,000 square-foot office-lab building.
The housing project would generate nearly $1 million in net annual revenues to the town, developers estimated.
Steve Adams
Gutierrez Company Vice President of Development Scott Weiss pointed to the success of mixed-use projects such as Nordblom Company’s 3rd Avenue, which added retailers including a Wegmans supermarket and two apartment complexes to an aging office park.
“We don’t want these areas to die a slow death,” Weiss said during a Planning Board presentation.
In April, The Gutierrez Company formally withdrew its zoning petition, according to a letter submitted by attorney Robert Buckley of Riemer & Braunstein LLP.
Weiss said the proposal is being revised to reflect public comment and will be resubmitted.
But the proposal drew skepticism from some Planning Board members during public meetings in late winter. Some questioned the location’s walkability and ability to fit into the commercial area. And Vice Chair Barbara L’Heureux said she received negative comments about the project from residents of nearby neighborhoods.
