Developers and commissioners back Westclox redevelopment overlay; planning staff lays out conditions

Planning staff and members of the ownership group presented the Westclox redevelopment proposal — a two-part request to remove two parcels (about 19.47 acres) from the existing Planned Development and rezone them from Employment Office Plan Development (EOPD) to Commercial General (CG) with a new Westclox (WCX) overlay.

Planning Director Bruce Lonnie (speaker 12) said the overlay would allow mixed uses and flexibility the PD did not provide, noting there are just under 235,000 square feet of existing warehouse/shell space on the site and a roughly 3.5-acre green frontage along Newton Bridge Road. He summarized staff and applicant requests: minimum 462 and maximum 693 surface parking spaces in a range, permitted ground-floor residential, cap on light manufacturing (50,000 sq ft), a floor-area-ratio not to exceed 3.0, and a requested residential density up to 50 units per acre (where CG allows 24). Lonnie outlined two planning-commission conditions: construction of a multiuse path along the southeastern boundary (Dairy Pack Road) to improve Greenway connectivity and maintaining at least 3 acres of combined open/community gathering space along Newton Bridge Road.

Owners and project proponents described the project's history and commitments. “The PD has been a failure,” said Russell Edwards (speaker 13), representing the ownership group, recounting many months of meetings with staff and the planning commission and saying the site is “a public hazard” in its current condition; he said a roof replacement estimate alone is about $7 million. Co-owner Gray Riley (speaker 14) and Chris Jackson (speaker 15) emphasized historic-preservation-oriented reuse, the owners’ commitment to affordable rents for local operators, and binding overlay commitments including a minimum of 50,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground level and a permanent block on uses such as self-storage, data centers, and drive-thrus.

Commissioners responded favorably; several noted the planning commission’s unanimous recommendation and flagged connectivity and design questions to be resolved before the Oct. 6 vote. Mayor closed the discussion by confirming the item will be on the Oct. 6 voting meeting agenda.