Town Seeks Zoning Change to Enhance 215-Acre Industrial Park

NEEDHAM, MA-This town wants to change the look of its 215-acre industrial park, called the New England Business Center, into a high-tech center and it is hoping that a zoning change that increases the allowable heights here will do the trick.

“We want to give to give the Center a facelift,” Eiko Narita, assistant planner for the town, tells GlobeSt.com. Narita notes that currently most buildings here are allowed to go up to 40 feet but the new zoning would allow heights up to 54 feet. “We’re basically updating the business center,” she says, pointing out that industrial parks have a much different look than office parks. The buildings in an industrial park are flat and wide with a lot of parking spaces. The town is looking to give the Center more of an office park look with more green space and limited concrete parking areas. “The whole image changes” in an office park, says Narita.

It was the town that recommended the zoning change but Narita says the large property owners in the park–Cabot, Cabot & Forbes, Coca Cola, GTE and Derenzo–are “supporting us. We are giving them more space to build upon.” Narita was unsure exactly how much additional space property owners would be able to build but she notes that the additional will also generate additional tax revenue for the town.