If You Build It, Will They Come? | High hopes for a high tech park in Leominster
When you think of life science and high tech hubs in Massachusetts, a few communities come to mind. Cambridge certainly. Devens, probably. Maybe some MetroWest towns like Framingham and Natick. If you’re from Central Massachusetts, Worcester is likely to be high on the list.
But Leominster? A little city 10 miles west of Interstate 495 with almost no modern industrial buildings?
State Support
Developers James Whitney and Barry Cosimi say it’s not a far-fetched prospect. With the support of city officials and more than $2 million in state infrastructure grants, they’re planning a technology-oriented industrial park that they say could attract nearly $100 million in private investment. Whitney says he’s already in talks with at least two biotechnology companies that could set up offices and production space there.
To some observers, the notion of Leominster as a technology center is appealing, and a real possibility for the future, but not something to bet on in the short term.
Southgate Business Park is 59 acres of potential pad-ready sites that will rest on water lines, sewer pipes and roads paid for by the state. Whitney said it will boast features like wide roadways with center islands and granite curbs designed to attract sophisticated technology companies.
“It’s not your average industrial park,” said developer James Whitney. “It’s going to be a higher-end road.”
The project, off Central Street in Leominster, includes both the industrial park and an affordable housing complex. Ultimately, the developers and city officials say, it could bring as much as $94.5 million in private capital and 250 permanent jobs into the area if the park is developed to its full capacity.
The city of Leominster worked with the developers to secure the state grants for the development, and the city also designated the property as its only expedited permitting site under the state’s Chapter 43D law. Lisa Vallee of the Leominster economic development office said the site has allowed the city to receive a “silver” rating from the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, the second step on the council’s four-step system, and she expects the city to institute some zoning changes that would move it to a gold rating.
Vallee said the park will contain 16 to 20 lots, depending on how much space businesses want to use.
Cosimi, who runs a plumbing supply store in Leominster, and Whitney, who has worked primarily in residential development, have never taken on a big project like Southgate. But Tim Norton, president and founder of Apex Properties in Leominster, who has talked with the developers about the project but not been directly involved in it, said they seem up to the task.
“Their reputation is great,” he said. “Top notch.”
Hook Needed
Still, others say succeeding at a project like the Leominster park can be a tall order for anyone. Economic issues aside, the land was once the site of a junkyard-recycling center and smelting operation and potential contamination is under investigation by the state Department of Environmental Protection, according to a report by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
Young Park, CEO of Berkeley Investments Inc. in Boston, said he’s not familiar with the specific project, but he thinks large industrial developments need to jump a couple of specific hurdles to reach viability. One, which Southgate has already handled, is getting support from the state. Another is finding an anchor tenant, something that has notoriously given Park himself trouble at CitySquare in Worcester. Park said the issue is even more significant in smaller communities.
“Those edge cities like Leominster and Fitchburg and such really have difficulty being credible when you talk to location specialists and companies,” he said, “So you need a hook.”
But Peter Abair, director of economic development for the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, said Leominster has some significant things going for it when it comes to attracting biotech companies in particular. It’s close to Devens, where Bristol-Myers Squibb is opening a plant that’s large enough to bring a fair amount of economic activity in its orbit. And it’s much cheaper than the current major biotech centers, which could allow it to attract different types of biotech development.
“It’s critical for the growth of the industry with Massachusetts that we have as much inventory as possible across as many price points as possible,” Abair said.
He said that as the biotechnology industry matures companies that grew up in Cambridge or Waltham will want to expand their operations and may choose to do so in less expensive areas on the other side of I-495.
Recession Blues
Kevin O’Sullivan, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives in Worcester, said life science companies are considering Central Massachusetts more than in the past. But with the current high vacancy levels along 495, he said, it may be a while before many companies see the need to look at places like Leominster.
“You’re putting a bet on the future,” he said.
Norton said that, while he has high hopes for the Southgate park, he would be more enthusiastic if the developers built a spec building.
“It’s kind of tough to make a deal in real estate at any time when the building isn’t really there,” he said.
But Norton acknowledged that no one’s putting up spec buildings anywhere these days.
If buildings aren’t going up before contracts are inked at Southgate, at least water lines and asphalt are going in. Much of the work to bring city services to the park is already complete, and Whitney said the first phase of road construction should start by early April and wrap up by the end of the summer. At that point, companies will be able to start building. Whitney said he and Cosimi can start working with companies right away to construct buildings for sale or lease.
“We can pull a building permit pretty much at any time now,” he said.
The Southgate park is part of Leominster’s effort to make itself attractive to high tech and biotech industry.
Most of the city’s existing industrial properties are older and inappropriate for many modern uses. In addition to Southgate, the city has also supported the development of Leominster Business Park, a 50-acre project on Tanzio Road that broke ground in May 2009.
That park’s developer, Gregg Lisciotti of Lisciotti Development Corp. in Leominster, said he sees the two parks less as competitors than potential allies in bringing modern industries to the city.
“I’m happy, long-term, for the city of Leominster and the region,” he said.
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