SOUTHBOROUGH – The plans for a Costco in Southborough are officially in motion.By a 771-12 margin, Southborough Town Meeting on Oct. 27 overwhelmingly amended the town’s zoning, specifically targeting a parcel at 21 Coslin Drive, a 17.81-acre lot located adjacent to Route 9, on the Southborough-Westborough line, and feet from Interstate 495.The zoning amendment added a “major retail” use in the town’s existing “Industrial Park” zone. The change allowed a Costco to be constructed on the ...
SOUTHBOROUGH – The plans for a Costco in Southborough are officially in motion.
By a 771-12 margin, Southborough Town Meeting on Oct. 27 overwhelmingly amended the town’s zoning, specifically targeting a parcel at 21 Coslin Drive, a 17.81-acre lot located adjacent to Route 9, on the Southborough-Westborough line, and feet from Interstate 495.
The zoning amendment added a “major retail” use in the town’s existing “Industrial Park” zone. The change allowed a Costco to be constructed on the Coslin Drive property, which is the only parcel that would be directly impacted by this zoning change based on the proposed requirements, according to the town.
Even with the approved zoning amendment, Costco doesn't necessarily have immediate approval to begin construction. Instead, the company would have the zoning it needs to go through the ordinary site plan approval process.
The new zoning allows for a large-format tenant of up to 125,000 square feet. The zoning requires the lot to be 20 acres (the lot extends into Westborough to meet this requirement) and a minimum of 500 feet from a residential district. Abutting lots may be used for complementary uses, which could mean other stores.
The zoning change was needed since the existing bylaws only permit a 50,000-square-foot retailer. Atlantic Management, a Framingham-based firm targeting the parcel for Costco, says that “they want to be where they are wanted,” according to the town.
At Town Meeting, residents spoke about the tax revenue the project could bring.
Southborough’s average residential tax bill has increased from $9,105 to $13,224 over a 10-year span, the town says, and since the pandemic, residential bills have increased at a clip of 5.4 percent per year. The tax burden has shifted to residential properties recently (84.3 percent), a trend that the town expects to continue into the future.
The town would need about $160 million of new commercial development to return to an 80-20 split between residential and industrial tax revenue. The revenue generated by Costco – and potential businesses that, taking advantage of the traffic generated, may open nearby – would be a boon to Southborough residents, the town says, shifting some of the tax burden away from the residents.
The parcel, an industrial park right now, is underdeveloped and underutilized.