Developers present 132‑unit plan at Westborough Plaza; town questions traffic, sewer and school impacts

Representatives of the Colangelo family and their consultants on April 9 presented preliminary plans to convert portions of Westborough Plaza into two residential components totaling 132 rental units and underground parking.

Mark Donahue, representing the Calangio/Colangelo ownership, described the proposal as retrofit and infill of the southern portion of the 36‑acre plaza, with one new four‑story building (underground parking and retail on the ground floor) and a retrofit of second‑floor office space in an existing building. “We would put back a 4‑story building with underground parking,” Donahue said during his overview.

Architect David Berryman provided a unit breakdown the board requested: “In the main building, there’s 30 studios, 51 one‑bedrooms, 32 two‑bedrooms,” he said; the retrofit building would include additional studios, one‑ and two‑bedrooms. Consultants told the board the project would create about 132 rental units total between the two buildings and proposed reducing impervious area and improving stormwater controls.

The owners told the board they are exploring an offer to increase the affordable component to 25% of units and to work with the Affordable Housing Trust to structure subsidies so that all 132 units would count on the town’s subsidized housing inventory under state rules. “If we have 25%, all 132 units count for what’s referred to as a subsidized housing inventory for the town,” Donahue said, explaining the regulatory advantage of that threshold.

Board members and staff raised several substantive concerns. Traffic was a frequent question; board members asked the planning board to review an independent peer review of traffic impacts and validate the project team’s assertion that added trips would be modest because the site is already a major traffic generator.

Sewer allocation emerged as a key constraint. Board members flagged the ongoing sewer moratorium discussion and asked whether the plaza has available allocation to convert retail to residential; Donahue said the developers have historical agreements and the team is coordinating with DPW to review committed allocations and usage. The board also asked about potential school impacts; consultants said the proposed unit mix (mostly studios and one‑bedrooms) typically generates fewer school‑aged children but acknowledged the town should study likely student yield from the two‑bedroom units.

Presenters said they have been before the planning board and zoning board of appeals and will continue coordination with the town on sight lines, parking, wetlands, stormwater and sewer allocation. Board members urged careful review of traffic, sewer allocation and school impacts as planning proceeds.

Next steps: The project team will supply the planning board and staff with the requested unit breakdown, traffic peer‑review responses and coordination documentation on sewer allocation; the planning board will continue its special permit and site plan review process.