MetroWest REC plans to convert Westborough’s Harvey Building into regional dispatch center after $4.6M grant

Christie Williams, Town Manager of Westborough, said the MetroWest Regional Emergency Communication Center (REC) will be housed at the Harvey Building, 20 Phillips Street, and that a July 2023 grant of more than $4.6 million will fund initial work on the project.

The plan, Williams said, is a regional effort between Westborough and Grafton with Southborough recently rejoining under an intermunicipal agreement; the district is governed by a board of chief administrative officers and will operate as its own municipal entity with separate insurance and legal arrangements. Designers and town officials presented schematic drawings, a procurement timeline and answers to resident questions during the public information meeting.

Designers Ted Galante and Paolo Carissimi described the historic masonry Harvey Building as having “good bones” but outdated interiors that will be renovated to house critical communications infrastructure. Proposed changes include a new elevator shaft and elevator access to basement and attic, discreet handicapped-access parking, mechanical systems (HVAC and a standby generator) and an IT/server room in the basement to support 911 operations. Carissimi said the dispatch room is being planned for up to 13 dispatcher workstations plus a supervisor station, and a 30-person training room is included in the first-floor layout.

The design team emphasized continuity with the building’s historic character: the front façade will largely remain while a small elevator volume will be detailed in brick to match existing materials. Carissimi said schematic design is expected to be completed by the end of the month, followed by cost estimating and construction documents for bidding toward April; construction administration and a project closeout, including a ribbon-cutting, are projected around August 2026.

Local concerns surfaced during public comment. John Bottellini Jr., who said he owns nearby property, said he supports reuse of the building but asked about 24-hour operations’ impacts on lighting, noise and parking. “Ithink it's a great idea,” Bottellini said, “but it's going to be a 24 hour a day use. I'm concerned about the normal things that a residential person would be, and that's lighting and noise and people coming and going.”

Patrick Purcell, identified in the meeting as the project chief, replied that the site will provide roughly 30 parking places and that not all spaces will be used at once; he said outside noise should be similar to a nearby fire station and that generator testing will be limited (about one hour per week) with decibel readings planned to monitor impacts. Purcell said the building could accommodate roughly “8 to 12 communities” depending on community size, a response to a question from Marguerite Landry of the Southborough Select Board.

Designers said lighting will be discreet and dark-sky compliant, limited to safe egress points (main entrance and elevator lobby) with bollard-style fixtures elsewhere; more detailed site lighting, stormwater and screening plans will come during design development once cost estimating is complete. Officials said the project team will post the presentation and related documents on metrowestrecma.gov and the Westborough website and that additional focused meetings are planned in Grafton and Southborough.

Next steps include finishing schematic design, obtaining a cost estimate to determine final scope, then issuing drawings for bid. No formal votes or motions were recorded in this meeting; the board continues work through an owner’s project manager to procure construction services for the project.