Southborough developer seeks to turn Marlborough office building into 180 apartments
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130 Lizotte Drive in Marlborough could be the site of a 180-unit apartment complex, if the City of Marlborough decides to approve a new overlay district that would allow for residential uses at the property.
A Southborough-based developer is seeking to create a new overlay district to allow for the conversion of a long-vacant office building in Marlborough into an 180-unit apartment complex.
Ferris Development Group is asking the City of Marlborough to create the Lizotte Drive Overlay District, which would allow for the conversion of 130 Lizotte Drive into residential units.
The building has been vacant for more than a decade, and the rezoning would allow Ferris to repurpose the parcel for residential use, said Ferris Development CEO David Ferris, who spoke in favor of the proposal at a Marlborough City Council meeting held on April 22.
"It could potentially be a very positive community development, given its location and proximity to some ballparks," Ferris said at the council meeting. He was referencing the Williams Street Baseball Fields, a complex containing three baseball fields utilized by the Marlborough Youth Baseball Association.
If the overlay district and other necessary municipal approvals are granted, Ferris plans on turning the existing office building into a 75-unit apartment and constructing two additional buildings on an adjacent lot containing 105 units. Both parcels sit in an area zoned only for industrial uses.
An entity associated with Ferris Development purchased the 130 Lizotte Drive and adjacent parcel utilized as a parking lot in March for $4.48 million, according to Middlesex South Registry of Deeds records. The building was purchased from Physik Instrumente, a German company headquartered in Auburn and in the process of building a new U.S. headquarters in Shrewsbury.
Physik Instrumente bought the property for $4.85 million in October 2022. It had originally planned on moving its headquarters to Marlborough, but later reversed course. Prior to Physik Instrumente’s ownership, the property was bought for $3.3 million in January 2020 by Brady Sullivan Properties of New Hampshire.
The parcels at 130 Lizotte Drive and the nearby parcel Ferris is including in this proposed development were given a combined assessment value of $9.09 million in 2024, according to City of Marlborough property records. The office building at 130 Lizotte Drive was built in 1999.
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