What will become of Westborough Hospital?
Future of 100-acre parcel uncertain
The site of the soon-to-be-former Westborough State Hospital should make a developer’s mouth water.
Beyond the dilapidated buildings is a 100-acre scenic parcel on the shore of Chauncy Lake, just off Route 9 and within two miles of Interstate 495, that could be home to any number of developments, including homes, office space or retail establishments.
And since the state recently announced plans to consolidate the Westborough facility’s operations at a to-be-constructed facility in Worcester, the debate over the future of the property is starting to kick up.
Adam Ploetz, manager of sustainable development programs for the 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership, which acts as an advocacy organization for the communities around 495, said a larger mixed-use commercial and residential development would work well on the site.
No big box
"It’s tempting to see that big chunk of space right at 495 and Route 9 and think it could be great for some kind of big-box retail use," Ploetz said. "But looking at Westborough, I don’t think they’d want to see that there. Some kind of mixed use, with residential and supporting commercial space, like restaurants, I think that makes sense there."
However, the site’s future is hardly clear cut. Operations relating to the hospital are not expected to move to a new Worcester facility for another three or four years. And there’s also a question of determining the correct zoning of the parcel in order to develop a comprehensive plan that might then be suitable to shop around to interested developers, said Kevin Flanigan, a deputy director at the state Department of Capital Asset Management, which oversees the site.
"Certainty is the key," to the future of the site, Flanigan said. "We need to minimize uncertainties and risk in a reuse plan that represents guidelines. We need to have that backed up with the required zoning in place to support those guidelines. Then you’ve got a much more solid package to present to the development community."
As it stands now, existing buildings on the site are in various states of disrepair, ranging from peeling paint to caved in roofs and floors, although some of the facilities do retain a stately air. Any efforts to redevelop or preserve some or all of the buildings on site would involve considerable effort.
Many of the buildings at Westborough Hospital have fallen into disrepair.No zone’s land
Because the site has been under state control for so long, there is no underlying zoning for the parcel, explained Jim Robbins, director of planning in Westborough. Uncertainty over how much, or how little, of the site will be opened up for development in the coming years makes determining appropriate zoning even more difficult, he said.
"Depending on how much they (the state) give us, that would determine how it would be zoned," Robbins said. "I have no idea what (the state is) thinking. Are they going to dispose of the whole thing, or just some of it?"
Robbins said the town has yet to be approached by any interested developers regarding the site.
"It’s definitely too early in the process," Robbins said. "But also, when there’s no zoning, there’s no comfort for the developer because he doesn’t know what can be done there."
Flanigan said once the site is declared surplus by the state, it must be determined if there is a direct public use for the land. If there is none proposed, then the site would be offered up for private development.
In the meantime, Flanigan said his office will begin a serious effort in the next 10 to 12 months to initiate a formal reuse planning process.
"We want to have the land back in productive use as quickly as possible," Flanigan said. "But it may take some time to go through the community process."
Partially due to the zoning ambiguity, neither Robbins nor Flanigan would speculate as to what kinds of development might fit on the site.
Ploetz said he sees great potential in the site, both for the community and the region. All it needs is a little direction and the right developer.
"If you did an RFP for this site and got the right progressive, innovative developer involved, I have no doubt all of these things could be accommodated," Ploetz said.
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