New Warehouse Proposed on Shawsheen, at Current Holt & Bugbee Site

Facility would be close to 190,000 square feet

At the April 24 Planning Board meeting, Daniel Mora of National Development received signoff for an Approval Not Required plan to split 1600 Shawsheen St., the current Holt & Bugbee mill, into two parcels for a future development plan.

That plan has now been fleshed out, with the 13.26 subdivided portion of the 22.6 acre lot slated to hold a 179,375 square foot warehouse with 10,000 sf of mezzanine office space, 40 loading docks, 148 parking spaces and 12 trailer storage spaces, with a truck turn-around area in the northwest corner. Truck access is provided via the existing curb cut just south of the railroad tracks that bisect Shawsheen. There is a proposed new curb cut for passenger vehicles.

The applicants are seeking a number of special permits, including increasing the maximum building height to five stories and 60 feet. That is at the discretion of the Planning Board, as are allowing a warehouse use in the Industrial 1 zoning district and reducing the number of parking spaces required. The Conservation Commission must also sign off on land disturbances.

The Holt & Bugbee lumberyard operation will be condensed and relocated to Lot 2, an irregularly shaped 9.31 acre parcel that wraps around the building housing the East Elite Cheer Gym.

Traffic-volume increases are expected to be in the range of 2 to 25 vehicles trips at peak hours, a wide range. A more comprehensive study is forthcoming, but residents have already voiced concerns about the volume of cars at the intersection of East St. and Shawsheen St., especially in light of two separate retail cannabis proposals, for 1699 and 1695 Shawsheen.

The Planning Board will hear more details on the proposal at its June 12 meeting.