By Joan F. Simoneau, Community Reporter
Marlborough – The opening stages of allowing residential and commercial business on the same acreage in the Marlborough Village District took place at the Sept. 12 City Council meeting. The site plan application for a six-story building with 32 residential condominium units and a ground floor restaurant was presented by Attorney Arthur Bergeron on behalf of Marlborough on Main Development, LLC of Woburn, Mass.
The 68,921 square foot project is planned for 163-175 Main Street, incorporating the former Marlborough Cooperative Bank building at 175 Main St. and will include 28 on-site parking spaces on the ground floor.
The Marlborough Village District, designed to capture the historic character of the downtown area of the city while expanding into a hub of community gathering places, was approved by the City Council following months of meetings and discussion. A design criteria was established by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and the Marlborough Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), working in partnership with the city of Marlborough. The vision is to build value and to support employers with a downtown that attracts visitors and helps to retain and recruit employees while creating new housing opportunities.
The request was referred to the Urban Affairs Committee for review. A public hearing is scheduled for the October third council meeting.
In other business, Councilors confirmed that the office of the Veterans Services Agent will remain at the Senior Center on New Street. At a recent meeting with the Operations and Oversight Committee, Mayor Arthur Vigeant stated that approximately one-third of the state’s Veterans’ Services agents are located in the local senior center. He also said this would be the only office moved to the Senior Center as the remainder of space is used for their programming.
Nicholas Charbonneau was recently appointed Marlborough’s new director of Veterans Services. He was previously employed at the Employment and Training Resource Centers in Framingham and Norwood. He replaced Gary Brown who recently retired from the position he held for 21 years.