WESTFIELD—The city will be seeking insight from residents early next year for the next steps of the tentative Turnpike Industrial Park, according to City Advancement Officer Joe Mitchell.
The Turnpike Industrial Park on Turnpike Industrial Road is on its way to becoming developed, and with that 66-acre site comes the prospect for ideas about what businesses could end up occupying the spaces there. According to Mitchell, he is in the process of developing a preliminary concept of the site and would like to have the plan in front of residents around the start of the new year.
“We want it to be in front of the public in the first, second week in January,” Mitchell said.
Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan (L) shows a concept of the industrial park to Sec. Jay Ash (R) during the grant presentation in June of this year. (WNG file photo, originally submitted by City Advancement Officer Joe Mitchell).
“I will have some more narrowed scope of what we think could go there or should go there and want to get public feedback on that,” he added.
The Turnpike Industrial Park, which is located between Turnpike Industrial Road and Cabot Road, is a piece of land that was previously dormant for about 28 years after a plan to turn it into a landfill did not come to fruition.
The city began making plans to create an industrial park at the location, and in June received a $300,000 site readiness grant from Sec. Jay Ash and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development to help develop the property.
According to Mitchell previously, the 66-acre site will have potential for eight to 14 parcels within it that can be used for businesses, and buffer zones have been created around the property to reduce potential impact to neighbors.
Mitchell said that the location is going through a market study currently and information is being gathered for a traffic study to occur, as well. He also said that they are about three months into the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) process—which the grant money was originally allocated for—and will be done with that in about another year.
Mitchell, who is working with consultants and MassDevelopment on the planning for the site, expects the preliminary plans to appear before a roundtable consisting of city departments and agencies such as Department of Public Works, Water Department, Westfield Gas and Electric, Planning Department and others. Information and input will be gathered during this time before it reaches the public in January.
Mitchell said that the meeting location and date has not been set yet, but it is expected to be in the evening to allow for a greater likelihood of attendance.
