Hunneman Commercial Real Estate recently had the chance to sit down with two representatives from the Town of Chelmsford: Lisa Marrone, the Director of Business Development, and Evan Belanksy, the Director of Community Development. Throughout our conversation, they highlighted the importance of Chelmsford’s business district as well as the changes the town has enacted to encourage and promote the thriving, diverse hub of industry it has historically cultivated.
Chelmsford is centrally located and uniquely positioned within the interchange of 495 and Route 3, which allows not only easy access up and down the corridor, but also enables businesses to attract talent pools from a wide swath from 128 up to southern New Hampshire. There are approximately 1800 businesses currently operating in Chelmsford - manufacturing and industrial giants, life science powerhouses, as well as specialty retail stores and boutiques. Companies such as Zoll Medical Corporation and ThermoFisher Scientific are opening and expanding their footprint in Chelmsford, further bolstering its already impressive profile and relevancy.
Evan, Lisa, and the town remain focused on attracting additional businesses. In efforts to reduce common roadblocks with development, many traditional zoning by-laws have been made less stringent with provisions and redevelopment by-laws – covering changes in setbacks, parking requirements, additional incentives, and flexible permitting. They recognized that zoning incentives were needed in the office park district to accommodate the economic challenges that COVID had presented. The new overlays take the underlying dimensional table, setbacks, FAR(Floor Area Ratio), lot coverage, and increase them by approximately 20% - offering a new “by-right” starting point. There is a potential to achieve an even higher threshold, attainable with special permitting. The new amenity overlay demonstrates their recent success. The recently announced lease of Pressed Café – an upscale fast casual restaurant located at 330 Billerica Road, is an important benchmark for future retail and amenity development. It signifies an important step into updating and reenergizing the first-generation office park buildings.
All this flexibility is designed to provide a forum for a property owner or investor to engage with the town and the Planning Board: “We did not want the zoning to be a reason for a project not to move forward” said Belanksy. They have had several commercial industrial expansions approved through the new overlay, as well as multi family properties and amenity improvement developments. “By-right” projects are now also on the receiving end of expedited permitting. From a town perspective, in the world of zoning, there is no doubt Chelmsford is taking an aggressive business friendly approach. These incentives, plus the attractive and competitive market rents for office space provide a welcoming environment for any business considering expansion or relocation. For a business who is seeking value while remaining centrally located, the town is a safe bet.
Lisa’s role focuses on the other nonphysical, non-zoning interests that are relevant to a business. Her office offers a dedicated pipeline for workforce development and is responsible for building and maintaining valuable partnerships with business leaders, community members, tenants, and realtors alike. Her office helps facilitate Workforce Training Fund Program Grants, Workplace Safety Training Grants, as well as a host of tax credits, exemptions, and incentives the Commonwealth of Massachusetts offers businesses.
Chelmsford has a balanced approach to the future of its business and economic development. Ultimately, they want to stay the course that Chelmsford has historically been known for – a stable and diverse collection of businesses. Couple that historical context with the new, aggressive zoning ordinances that allows permitting for a wide variety of uses truly opens the space for development and improvement. The town is committed to exploring new concepts, working with business owners, investors, and developers to help facilitate lasting and impactful growth and change of its business district.
They hope to focus their energies on remaining buildings with higher vacancies, a selection of which are already in front of the planning board to update and enhance them to attract the new future of business tenants. For more information about the town’s plans, or if you are interested in what Chelmsford has to offer, please reach out to Lisa Marrone at (978) 244-3303 or lmarrone@chelmsfordma.gov or Evan Belanksy at 978-250-5231 or ebelansky@chelmsfordma.gov
Author: Mark Fallon, Director of Research & Strategy
The above data is from sources deemed to be generally reliable, but no warranty is made as to the accuracy of the data nor its usefulness for any particular purpose