SHREWSBURY – A Floor & Decor may be coming to the future home of a McGovern Auto Group collision and fit-up center at 420 Boston Turnpike.
The revised plans were presented to the Planning Board during their Sept. 1 meeting.
The Floor & Decor store, which would be 65,300 square feet, would replace a previously-proposed retail pad, according to Kelly Engineering Group’s David Mackwell.
According to Mackwell, the original site plans called for demolishing and reusing half of the building and have space for parking.
“The re-filed project is very similar, except the proposed retail pad is a Floor & Decor store,” he added.
“We’re happy that now we can show that the whole site is being developed, not just part of it. This gives everyone comfort in knowing that this is the full plan,” said McGovern’s attorney Richard Ricker.
Ricker added, “It [the site] has had its better days, to say the least. One of the buildings was condemned. I’ve had three successful fire chiefs in this town tell me these are the most dangerous buildings they know of.”
History of the site
The site has operated as a manufacturing facility for many years and used to host flea markets.
In September 2021, McGovern bought the 15.4 acre property, which contains two buildings.
Proposed to the Board of Selectmen in February, McGovern plans to use the site as a collision and fit-up center that would fit lights and amenities onto 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.
McGovern anticipates that the center would specifically bring approximately 50 to 60 jobs to Shrewsbury.
The Board of Selectmen granted a garage license and approvals for storage parking.
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. Both permits were approved.
Next steps
Planning Board Chair Steven Boulay requested that McGovern create plans that include parking, snow storage and an “overall better flow of the site.”
According to Ricker, they will have to return before the Board of Selectmen and the Zoning Board of Appeals with their revised site plan.
The updated site plan may call for changes to its licenses. Additionally, the plans will go before the Conservation Commission.
McGovern and Kelly Engineering Group will present the updated site plan with the updates suggested by Boulay to the Planning Board on Oct. 6.
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