Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 22, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 13 spreading westward, said Roy Nascimento, the president and CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce. "This area is well-positioned to see growth coming out of Greater Boston," Nascimento said. E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T F O C U S 1 614 Southbridge St. (Route 12), Auburn 16.4 acres Mostly wooded land Highway business $5.995 million 2 111 Hospital Road, Devens 46 acres Wooded land Biomanufacturing, light manufacturing, office, R&D; up to 500,000 square feet N/A 3 Westminster Business Park, Westminster 310 acres Mostly wooded land Industrial, residential N/A 4 Fort Pond Road, Lancaster/Shirley/Lunenberg 414 acres Mostly wooded land Industrial N/A 5 64 Worcester St., Webster 18.7 acres Wooded land Business $1.1 million 6 0-28 Mulberry St., Worcester 5.3 acres Former church General business N/A 7 3 Oriol Drive, Worcester 13.3 acres Wooded land Residential $4.75 million 8 110 Worcester-Providence Highway (Route 146), Sutton 9.3 acres Former drive-in theater Business $1.25 million 9 190 Washington St. (Route 20), Auburn 56 acres Wooded land Industrial $1.75 million 10 Athens Street (Route 20), Auburn 17.6 acres Wooded land Residential $990,000 11 8 Cherry St. (Route 9), Shrewsbury 5.6 acres Wooded land Limited industrial $1 million 12 9 Otis St., Westborough 16 acres Wooded land Industrial $1.25 million 13 191 Mechanic St., Bellingham 6.4 acres Cleared land Permitted for office/warehouse $1.2 million 14 257 Simarano Drive, Marlborough 3 acres Wooded land Industrial N/A 15 12 N. Main St., Auburn 17.6 acres Mostly wooded land Commercial $2.7 million 16 201 Main St. (Route 131), Sturbridge 20 acres Mostly wooded land Commercial, residential N/A 17 128-142, 141 Armsby Road, 208 Worcester-Providence Highway, Sutton 58.6 acres Mostly wooded land Commercial, residential $995,000 18 520 Park Avenue, Worcester 6.6 acres Vacant auto dealership General business N/A 19 27 Hospital Road, Devens 36 acres Cleared land Building of up to 350,000 square feet N/A 20 Village Inn Road, Westminster 80 acres Mostly wooded land Commercial, residential N/A Sources: Kelleher and Sadowsky, O'Brien Commercial Properties, R.W. Holmes, NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs Site Size Details Zoning/allowed Price The 20 sites W 11 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 "There's a lot of potential there for that local pocket of Route 146," said Jeff Borus, an agent at NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs, referring to the area around the Pleasant Valley Crossing shopping center. The site of the former Yankee Drummer Hotel in Auburn was sup- posed to be a Lowe's hardware store before the company ditched its plans. "There's nothing else like that that I know of in Central Mass.," said John McKinley, a broker at Kelleher & Sadowsky. The property is large enough that it appeals most to a smaller group of potential buyers, McKinley said, such as for a big box store, of which there are fewer amid today's retail challenges. "It's really ideal for anyone who's destination-oriented," he said. The largest developable site off the Massachusetts Turnpike is a 56-acres site on Route 20 in Auburn, which has direct visibility from the highway. Roughly one-fourth of the site – 14 acres – are wetlands that can't be built upon, but Kelleher and Sadowsky envisions a potential for roughly 200,000 square feet of space. The Route 2 corridor In northern Worcester County, Westminster has three of the largest available sites. An 80-acre parcel behind the former Wachusett Village Inn directly off Route 2 carries the potential for 100,000 square feet of office or retail use, plus residential development allowed by zoning at the rear of the site. "We've looked at a lot of different users," Bob Cronin, a real estate agent with Colliers International, said of the property. A few miles to the north, more than 300 acres are available for development just off Route 2A in the Westminster Business Park. The property has the capacity for about 1.5 million square feet of industrial space, part of it with direct rail access, and includes 60 acres zoned for residential use. A few minutes' drive to the west is the Simplex Drive Industrial District, with another roughly 200 acres available just off Route 2. Steve Wallace, the Westminster town planner, said he's been working with prospective buyers or tenants to draw them to the right site in town. "Any time we have a prospective idea, we get together and talk about it," Wallace said. "Anyone who's looking in that area, I'm willing to walk them through the process." About 15 minutes to the east down Route 2, more than 400 acres north off the highway between exits 35 and 36 has the capacity for 2.8 million square feet of space around the borders of Lancaster, Lunenburg and Shirley. Devens has one site for a building of up to 500,000 square feet, and another that can fit up to 350,000 square feet, with both suited for life science or research and development uses. With companies squeezed out of locations closer to Boston, growth is Roy Nascimento W B J / G O O G L E M A P 1 10

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