WESTBOROUGH – Spectrum Health Systems wants to construct two additional buildings on its campus on Oak Street in Westborough.
Spectrum officials and their attorney, Mark Donahue, presented plans for the site to the Select Board on March 22 before then appearing before the Planning Board on April 5.
Their plans would consolidate three existing parcels on the campus while adding roughly 15,000-square-feed of total facility space.
“Spectrum has been part of this community for more than 40 years, offering recovery services to a variety of individuals throughout the commonwealth who come here for this facility and have been good neighbors over on Oak Street as part of that campus,” Donahue said during the Select Board meeting.
The Select Board is a part of the site plan review plans in Westborough, though the final decision rests with the Planning Board.
Select Board member Patrick Welch thanked Spectrum following their presentation, noting the “vital function” that he said this expansion will serve.
“Sadly, our community and our state needs this, but I’m glad to see that the state and Spectrum are making the investments to give people the care that they need,” Welch said.
Spectrum details plans
Spectrum’s existing site is made up of three parcels.
During the April 5 Planning Board meeting, though, engineer Randy Miron said Spectrum plans to remove the property lines and consolidate the space into one parcel.
The two proposed new buildings associated with this project, in turn, would join three buildings already on the campus site.
One of the buildings, which would be the closest to Oak Street, is envisioned as a two story, 4,665-square-foot patient intake center.
It would be accessed through a shared driveway that is also used to access the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, which is located on nearby North Drive.
Donahue said during the Select Board meeting that the building would move intake services to limit the disruptive impacts of that intake process on the rest of Spectrum’s operation.
The other new building would be a three-story 10,355-square-foot administrative and clinical facility.
Donahue said that building would combine a number of administrative efforts both on campus and off-site.
Town officials talk parking, other concerns
Outside of buildings, current plans call for a sidewalk that would stretch along Oak Street.
There would be parking at the two new buildings and an additional lot in between them for a total of 115 new spaces.
“The campus, as it is right now, is a little short on parking that they’d like to have,” architect Luis Lobao said.
After consolidating the parking spaces, there will be a total of 172 spaces on the campus.
Select Board member Allen Edinberg noted that staff currently park on the shoulder of Oak Street and on nearby side streets.
Spectrum officials said they plan to eliminate that.
During the Planning Board meeting, Chair Mark Silverberg said he would like to entertain a payment in lieu of taxes agreement, which could mirror a similar agreement inked with Mass General Brigham last year in response to now withdrawn plans for an ambulatory care clinic in Westborough.
“You’re establishing a pretty big presence in town, and you have to be aware that you’re using quite a few town services — emergency response, water, sewer,” Silverberg said.
The Planning Board continued its public hearing on the plans to April 26.
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