🔒Worcester eyes 160-acre rezoning to spur development, AbbVie expansion

The City of Worcester is considering zoning changes to allow more development near the AbbVie Bioresearch Center. About 160 acres of land north of Belmont Street and west of Plantation Street would be changed to general business zoning from its current status as mostly a manufacturing zone, allowing for more uses for the space designated […]

The City of Worcester is considering zoning changes to allow more development near the AbbVie Bioresearch Center. About 160 acres of land north of Belmont Street and west of Plantation Street would be changed to general business zoning from its current status as mostly a manufacturing zone, allowing for more uses for the space designated as a transformative growth area in the City’s Now | Next plan.  The zoning change to a BG-3 zone from MG-0.5 and BG-2 would allow for a greater variety of business uses, including retail, restaurants, and hotels. BG-3 zoning also allows for the construction of multifamily housing by right, according to Worcester’s zoning ordinance.  The Worcester Planning Board unanimously approved the rezoning Wednesday. The City Council must still approve the measure, which will first go to the Economic Development Committee before a full council vote. The rezoning would allow existing nonconforming uses, including the Beechwood Hotel and Mercadante Funeral Home & Chapel, to comply with zoning.

The area is north and east of The Reactory, a site slated for life sciences development by Webster development firm Galaxy Life Sciences. It does not include The Reactory, which is already zoned BG-3. The rezoning will make the area more reflective of some of the existing land uses, said Worcester Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn at the Worcester Planning Board meeting on April 1. The manufacturing zoning dates back to the 1980s establishment of the UMass Medicine Science Park. The change would allow for more density, allowing buildings to be built higher and use more of the parcels they occupy, said Michelle Smith, assistant chief development officer for the City. The rezoning would allow for more potential growth for the campus utilized by Illinois-based AbbVie. The global research-based biopharmaceutical firm occupies a 457,170-square-foot building at 100 Research Drive and is working to complete a three-story, 55,211-square-foot building containing an employee cafeteria, offices, and warehouse space.  “The building that they're in the process of constructing will bring them to a 0.4 floor-area-ratio, leaving them very little room,” Smith said during the meeting. “AbbVie is more or less at the density that's allowed right now. What that means is lots of surface parking, lots of areas that aren't being utilized. Increasing the density allowed here allows for more compact development.” The move will rezone about 36 acres of land between the area northwest of AbbVie along the eastern edge of Green Hill Park to single-family residential, which brings it more in line with nearby residential zoning and will help preserve open space, Smith said.  Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.