A "major" pharma employer could fill Devens site
Courtesy/MassDevelopment
The rezoned land will become Devens' largest available commercial development site and could meet the needs of a large biotechnology company or manufacturers looking to create a "campus like" facility, according to MassDevelopment.
A zoning change approved by voters in three communities will create a 40-acre site available for commercial use in the north central Massachusetts enterprise zone Devens, a space that could serve as a future home for a pharmaceutical company or other life-sciences and technology-based businesses.
Voters at a "Super Town Meeting" -- simultaneous town meetings in Ayer, Shirley and Harvard -- on Monday night backed the zoning change for 32.7 acres of residential land in Devens. The rezoning will make the land eligible for innovation and technology business uses, including office, industrial and research and development spaces.
Combined with adjacent land zoned the same way, the rezoned land will become Devens' largest available commercial development site and could meet the needs of a large biotechnology company or manufacturers looking to create a "campus like" facility, according to state finance and development agency MassDevelopment. The largest commercial site now marketed at Devens, located at 45 Jackson Rd., is 22.3 acres.
"It was quite a process for MassDevelopment to get all three towns to agree to the zoning change, and it seems pretty clear that a major pharmaceutical company is interested to come to Devens," Sen. Jamie Eldridge told the News Service. "And Devens is just such a great location, not only for its space but the permitting process tends to be more quick than a typical city or town. I would certainly hope there would be many jobs that benefit the sort of Nashoba Valley area which I represent."
Eldridge, an Acton Democrat whose district covers Devens, said he does not know the name of the pharmaceutical company interested in establishing itself there. But he said he hopes it follows the path of drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb, which built a biologics and manufacturing facility on a 89-acre Devens site in 2009.
Bristol-Myers Squibb developed a partnership with Mount Wachusett Community College, starting a satellite campus at Devens to train workers, Eldridge said.
"No one knows what the details would be on this new company, but certainly I would hope there would be partnerships either with other schools or business in the area," he said.
A former military installation, Devens is a 4,400-acre site managed by MassDevelopment and created by statute in 1993 as an area to support business growth. It features "fast-track permitting" and other incentives for businesses and is home to businesses, government organizations and nonprofits that employ nearly 5,000 people, according to MassDevelopment.
MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones said the rezoning approved this week "will create opportunities for biotech, light industrial, and R&D companies to locate their larger facilities in Devens, boosting jobs and economic activity in the region."
MassDevelopment expects the rezoning to support hundreds of new permanent jobs in the region, with 350 to 500 skilled positions possible if a bio-manufacturing facility comes in. The agency also touted potential tax revenue that could help reduce the Devens' operating deficit and said the site's proximity to research and development facilities in Boston, Cambridge and Worcester would make it attractive to life sciences and high-tech companies.
Devens covers land in Harvard, Ayer and Shirley, and all three towns must approve zoning changes. The rezoned land falls within the boundaries of Harvard, near the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Oxbow Refuge.
The rezoning proposal failed at a Super Town Meeting in June 2015, winning the support of Ayer and Shirley voters but failing in Harvard, where state officials say residents were concerned that the warrant item's language would allow an undesirable mix of uses at the site. The zoning change approved Tuesday night specified that the land would be dedicated to "Innovation and Technology Business" uses only.
On Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Charlie Baker plans to gather in Devens with state and business leaders for a jobs and workforce summit centered on the skills needed to compete in a global economy. The Workforce Solutions Group's seventh annual summit will explore topics including hiring forecasts, job training and opportunities in the construction and transportation industries. Other speakers include Rep. Patricia Haddad, Amy Kershaw of the Department of Transitional Assistance, Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Ronald Walker and Congressman Seth Moulton.
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