SHREWSBURY – A proposed McGovern collision center on Route 9 may now include a retail center.
The Planning Board accepted the withdrawal of McGovern Auto Group’s existing plans for the project on Aug. 4 with the expectation that new plans will be before the board next month.
Director of Planning and Economic Development Bernard Cahill told the Community Advocate the new proposal includes a retail building in addition to the collision and fit-up center.
“The board has been waiting for some revisions from the applicant for a few months, as I think all of you know,” Cahill told the Planning Board. “It was determined actually mutually between [the] planning department and the applicant that the new changes as you’ll see are substantial enough that they actually warrant a new application and couldn’t be made under this legal notice with modifications.”
What was proposed
The property, which is located at 420 Boston Turnpike, has been purchased by McGovern.
As a collision and fit-up center, McGovern planned to use this site to fit lights and amenities onto municipal vehicles such as police cars and fire trucks.
The collision center would also service McGovern’s local dealerships, including the Autobahn USA and McGovern Buick GMC dealerships in Westborough and the Audi and BMW dealerships in Shrewsbury.
The property is made up of 15.4 acres with two buildings.
During past meetings before the Board of Selectmen and Zoning Board of Appeals, McGovern’s officials have said that the site had seen its day.
“The buildings on the site are in really terrible shape,” attorney Richard Ricker said during a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting in February. “This proposal basically revitalizes this whole site.”
McGovern planned to demolish the smaller building on the site and half of the larger building, leaving about 112,000 square feet and a 6,500-square-foot mezzanine.
In February, McGovern representatives went before the Board of Selectmen and presented the original site plans and requested a garage license and approvals for storage parking, which was granted.
Later that month, McGovern went before the Zoning Board of Appeals to request two special permits. One of the permits would allow the operation of a garage and repair shop and the other would allow workers to alter and reconstruct a nonconforming structure.
Next steps
During the Planning Board meeting, Cahill said the revised application may trigger a new hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals.
McGovern also may return before the Board of Selectmen for changes to its licenses.
The project will be back before the Planning Board Sept. 1.
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