HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-11-18-EDAC-min
Town of Lexington
Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC)
Minutes of Meeting of November 18, 2015
EDAC
A meeting of the was held on Wednesday, November 18th at 8:05 a.m. in the Parker Room of the
Town Office Building at 1625 Mass Ave.
Members Present
: John McWeeney, George Burnell, Narain Bhatia, Sig Tullman, Kevin
Maguire
, and Tom Dusel, Larry Smith, Bob Richards
Liaisons Present:
Charles Hornig, Joe Pato (Board of Selectmen), Peter Kelley (Board of Selectmen)
Staff Present:
Carol Kowalski, Melisa Tintocalis
Members Absent:
Lelani Foster, David Pronchick, Rick DeAngelis
Action Items:
Follow up with Bryan Koop/BP regarding 17 Hartwell (Melisa)
Invite Hanscom Representative to EDAC (Melisa)
Create a FAQ of what can be done in Hartwell under new zoning (Melisa)
Set up meeting with new Shire senior management; connect with Bob Richards (Melisa)
The meeting was called to order at 8:05 a.m. and the following items were discussed:
Approval of Minutes
The committee members approved the October 2015 minutes with the correction that Kevin
Maguire was present.
Review of the Ground Breaking at Hartwell
John McWeeney reported on the King Street Properties ground breaking at 115 Hartwell Avenue
that took place on October 28th. King Street will begin construction on an 80,000 SF lab and
office building adding a fourth building to their campus named The Hartwell Innovation Campus
or “THINC”. Melisa Tintocalis played the project’s promotional video that highlights its
Lexington location and the REV as an alternative source of transportation. Carol Kowalski and
Melisa also reported that at the groundbreaking they met Travis McCready, the new President of
the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and were invited to visit LabCentral, a life sciences
incubator, in Kendall Square. Narain Bhatia expressed interest in learning of the MLSC’s
initiatives as well.
Review of the TMOD and Hartwell Zoning
Aaron Henry, Planning Director, presented of the evolution of the Hartwell’s zoning. He
described that in the early 80’s there was an effort to limit growth that resulted in zoning by-laws
that restricted development and limited the floor area ratio to 0.125. In addition, there was also a
zoning provision that was commonly referred to as the “transportation trip wire” that required
any new development project which increased traffic to make significant improvements to the
main intersections at Hartwell Avenue and Bedford Street. New zoning that was adopted in 2010
which increased the FAR to .35 and added the Transportation Management Overlay District
allowing for developers to make a contribution to a fund that would, over time, grow and pay for
infrastructure improvements. In addition, the Planning Board is now responsible for site plan
review and additional dimensional relief could be sought through a special permit. The
committee members discussed the need to communicate to developers what can be done under
the new zoning. Tom Dusel suggested reviewing how Waltham has worked with their new
zoning.
Other Business/Updates
Tom Dusel reported that Merck is selling the Cubist buildings and may lease back portions.
At this point there is no expectation that Merck/Cubist will pursue an infill development project
nor augment the footprint of the existing buildings. Hobbs Brook and Boston Properties may be
considering the acquisition of this site. Tom also stated that Hobbs Brook has secured a lease
with Shire for the current Vista Print site at Ledgemont. He stated Ledgemont 3 is still under
litigation. The committee also discussed their concern that Shire opted to lease space over
building two permitted buildings due to complaints by neighbors over noise. Narain Bhatia
encouraged the committee members to think how the committee can be more proactive and help
address issues similar to Shire.
at 9:45AM
Meeting Adjourned: Next meeting:
December 2015