Bay State Commons project moves forward
Westboro has given its final go-ahead to the developer of a sprawling, 56-acre project that will add 310,000 square feet of retail, office and residential space to its downtown.
Called Bay State Commons, the 11-building complex includes room for 50 condos and 210,000 square feet of commercial space. Roche Bros. supermarkets has already agreed to open a grocery store, giving an anchor to the development. In addition, a 2.5-acre public park with 25 shade and fruit trees will be created for the town.The project runs along Union Street, behind East Main Street and abuts the train tracks there.
The construction will spread across 21.2 acres of the former Bay State Abrasives complex, a century-old group of vacant buildings that have gone unused since 2003. The site’s previous occupants include the Westborough Underwear Company, the International Hat Company, a lumber yard, a beef warehouse and a coal storage facility. It had been used for abrasives manufacturing since 1922.
As part of the building conditions, the developer agreed to several road improvements, including the addition of a traffic light, the realignment of Brigham and Cottage Streets and improved pedestrian access.
Plans for the project sat on the table for two years while the town and the developer, Westborough CC LLC in Rochester, N.Y, worked out its details. Concerns over increased traffic through the center of town, were a major point of contention, said James E. Robbins, town planner.
The town estimates 8,240 cars will use the East Main Street every day when the project opens. A number of small business owners in the area said they were concerned over how the additional traffic, as well as about how the new commercial space might affect them.
"Small businesses make up a majority of all businesses in the town and many of us are unique, with individual stores that are our livelihood," says Melissa Orlando, owner of Plant Bazaar Florist on East Main St, a 22-year staple of downtown Westboro. "But there is talk about bringing in mass merchandisers. How can that not hurt?"
Nicolina Sabatini, owner of The Town Shop boutique store on nearby South Street, says that although traffic might cause some congestion, the influx of customers
and retailers would ultimately help her business.
"I am all for it," she says. "Competition is good, and more people means more business."
The developer could have a building permit as early as March 21, when a 21-day appeal period for abutters ends. Robbins said most abutters appeared satisfied by the end of the hearings. Demolition for the project has already begun.
The project is the first major development to be built under zoning changes passed in 2004 that encourage so-called "mixed use" developments. The new guidelines were written initially to allow for the Bay State Commons project.
"It’s going to take away an old and environmentally difficult site and brighten the center of our town," says Henry L. Danis, town coordinator. "It will transform it into something unique and positive for the town as a whole."
Lydia L. Goldblatt, chairman of the selectmen, adds the project will be a boon to the area economy and greatly add to the tax base in town. "It’s going to change the face of Westboro forever," she says. "Once you do it, you can’t take it back, but it’s certainly better to have something like that than an abandoned factory. Eventually something was going to go in there. This in the balance is what is best for the town."
Kenneth J. St. Onge can be reached at kstonge@wbjournal.com
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