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WOBURN – A Boston-based developer recently unveiled plans to convert the Boston Sports Club building near Presidential Way into a dedicated life sciences building.
At the city council’s last regular meeting, Burlington attorney Mark Vaughan, representing landowner 400 Presidential Way Rhino Capital, explained that his client had already spoken to at least two tenants interested in leasing space. in the remodeled building just off I-93.
Vaughan and Rhino Capital head of construction and development Tyler Murphy then assured city officials that no high-risk uses would be permitted on the 9.8-acre site, which currently contains a three-storey building. floors with an area of 33,159 square feet.
In addition to updating the fitness center to create new lab space – no more than six “clean rooms” or testing “control areas” will be established – the petitioner also plans to add a loading dock to the building by leveling an outdoor basketball court located at the back. propriety limit.
“The plan is to retain the existing footprint of the building and reposition it for life science and laboratory purposes,” Vaughan explained. “As you are no doubt aware, there has been tremendous interest in the life sciences and laboratory market over the past year and for a variety of reasons we believe this building is ideally located.”
Ultimately, council continued the public hearing on the matter until June 21.
Overlooking I-93 and located just off exit 37C to Commerce and Presidential Way, guests access the fitness center through an entrance shared by other commercial properties located at 200 and 300 Presidential Way.
City Council, which is being asked to grant a special permit sanctioning the new life sciences use, generally supported the concept and at one point during the recent meeting seemed receptive to immediate approval of the application. .
At least two major factors seemed to influence the board’s ease with the proposal. Firstly, as Murphy explained in response to a question from Ward 1 Councilor Joanne Campbell, converting the building as proposed will prevent so-called high-risk users from considering a lease on the site, as the property will not be equipped to handle hazardous biological agents or large quantities of hazardous materials.
“Right now we’re talking to two companies and they’re both in the cell therapy world,” Rhino Capital’s representative of the potential tenants said. “According to the city’s zoning code, we are not permitted to have chemicals in quantities that will create unsafe use there. So the building code is very clear as to what can and cannot be here.
Another factor working in the petitioner’s favor is the result of a traffic impact study, which reportedly concluded that there will be fewer motorists driving to the site each day once it is converted for tenants life sciences.
According to Christine Trearchis, an engineer at VHB, to ensure her traffic study was accurate, she compared pre- and post-pandemic tallies at the Boston Sports Club with industry-agreed-upon route projections for the centers of fitness. She then compared those numbers with traffic forecasts for a new use in life sciences.
“It turned out to be a real reduction in trips of up to 100 vehicles per peak hour, or about 400 fewer trips per day,” Trearchis said.
The main trigger point for the petition concerned the proposed mitigation package for the project, which would involve the removal of an offsite sign associated with the property and the payment of approximately $6,500 to the Town of Woburn for an upgrade. at traffic lights.
According to Ward 5 Councilor Darlene Mercer-Bruen, whose ward includes the Presidential Way site, she is uncomfortable with any mitigation deal that involves issuing a check to the Town of Woburn for cover the cost of requested infrastructure improvements.
Recounting many instances where similar payments sat untouched for years in city mitigation accounts or, worse still, were slated for unrelated projects, Mercer-Bruen insisted Rhino Capital agree to buy and downloading the requested software update at the traffic light near the petitioner’s main driveway.
“We are committed to doing this. [City Engineer Jay Corey] estimates that $6,500 is enough to [upgrade that traffic light’s capabilities]. We’re just trying to set a limit [on how much to pay the city] so we don’t suddenly find out we’re being asked to pay $30,000,” Vaughan said of the proposed mitigation.
“I don’t want you writing a check to anybody,” Mercer-Bruen replied. “If there’s any mitigation that’s needed, I think it’s more appropriate for you to buy it and install it… We’ve had too much trouble not doing certain things.”
The second sticking point was over a special permit condition that will require the removal of a freestanding sign, which apparently was never permitted and is planted on state-owned land between I-93 and the Boston Sports Club.
Vaughan, who has so far been unable to identify the owner of the sign and determine whether the state has approved the lease of his land, feared his client was about to be embroiled in a legal spat between the city, the Mass. Department of Transportation, and the owner of the sign.
However, city officials, while willing to give the petitioner the necessary time to work within this bureaucratic framework, insisted they were unwilling to budge on the proposed special permit condition.
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