Meeting On Tap To Look At Westborough Hospital Site
The Westborough State Hospital parcel includes 180 acres of prime real estate.
On Tuesday, state officials, former hospital workers and patients, attended a ceremony to mark the long-awaited closure of Westborough State Hospital.
And next week, a special commission appointed by the legislature will begin meeting to ponder the future of the 180-acre site.
The hospital property is located in Westborough and Northborough north of Route 9 and east of Interstate 495. Its size and proximity to major arteries makes the property a prime site for development.
The first meeting of the commission will be held on Tuesday, June 15 at the Department of Public Works building at 131 Oak St. in Westborough at 5:30 p.m.
Prime Real Estate
Members of the commission interviewed for this story said that there are few preconceived notions about the parcel's future.
"You've got to think this will eventually require some sort of private investment to get developed," said Vera Kolias, a planner with the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission and a voting member of the 15-person committee. "But we're really in the early stages of deciding how the property will get divided up, what the opportunities are for redevelopment and what exactly will happen there."
Finding a potential use for the site will be a long process with plenty of challenges, according to Adam Ploetz, director of sustainable development for the 495/MetroWest Partnership, which has a non-voting seat on the commission.
The site has more than 27 buildings, along with dozens of smaller structures, some of which were constructed as far back as the 1880s. The complex also includes athletic fields and sits directly on Chauncy Lake.
Ploetz said the simple fact that there is a large amount of space for potential development so close to Route 9 and Interstate 495 will certainly attract attention from some real estate developers.
"The availability of large parcels in Massachusetts is very limited, so when anyone hears about a space with more than 20 or 30 acres, the ears perk up," he said.
Ploetz said the process is still more than a year away from actively involving a developer in discussions, however.
Several issues must be addressed by the commission. Most basically, Northborough Town Administrator John Coderre said members of the committee need to find out what exactly is on the property and what historic restrictions there are.
The rest of the committee is made up of three representatives from Northborough, three from Westborough and representatives from seven separate state organizations, including the state's historical commission, the department of fish and game, the department of agriculture and the department of highways. Some of those various organizations own land within the site.
The committee has been charged with producing a written report with development recommendations within one year.
The legislation creating the special commission specifically outlined multiple issues that must be considered, which include:
• examining what existing municipal plans and zoning rules are in place for the site;
• soliciting public input on future uses;
• conducting an analysis of the impact any use may have on the towns;
• recommending zoning changes;
Plans to close the hospital date back more than two years when the state legislature created a special commission to examine ways to save money in the state's inpatient hospital system. Initial plans called for the Westborough facility to close by 2012 when an upgraded facility in Worcester is set to be complete.
However, cost savings of $8.2 million from closing now prompted the early closure, according to Anna Chinappi, spokesperson for the state's Department of Mental Health.
During the last year patients have gradually been moved out of the facility. About 140 adult patients have been placed in a community setting or were transferred to other DMH facilities, Chinappi said. About 30 adolescent patients were transferred to a temporary space at Worcester State Hospital.
Chinappi said all of the Westborough patients will be moved out by next week.
After the special commission releases its report, the state legislature will ultimately decide what will be done with the property and the decision must be approved by the governor.
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