HUDSON – The Economic Development Commission met on Feb. 21 to discuss the status of the former Intel property at 75 Reed Road and what the future might hold.
The property was purchased by National Development, a real estate investment and management company, for $12 million on Nov. 20.
Katie Snyder, who is senior vice president at National Development, said the company does all types of development, such as office buildings, retail, mixed used and senior housing. Snyder said she was “excited to be a part of the Hudson community” and learn the history of the property.
Of the purchase, she said, “It was heads down from July through November.”
National Development is working with Intel to learn about all aspects of the former Intel headquarters. Intel is leasing the site from National Development and can be there for up to 18 months. The company is building a headquarters in Boxborough, she said, and relocating people there.
Snyder said, “We’ll see if they go full term or if they bow out at the 12-month mark.”
This connection gives National Development time to be thoughtful about the property’s future and how to market it to see what company might think it would be a good home for them, she said.
As the process continues, Snyder said they will share as much as they can with the commission. As of now, nothing has “come to fruition,” she said, but marketing has only been done by National Development for a couple months.
Snyder said, “We’ll see what happens, and we’re going to continue to market.”
Commission member Thomas Davis called the Intel property “by far the biggest property of its ilk in town.” He believed that they all wanted to see if they could attract businesses that will help the town prosper. He also noted the success of data and chip companies in the market right now, so as to not dismiss the fact the infrastructure is already in place for a digital company.
Davis asked if there was a restriction on the deed so that a similar company could not be a tenant of the property, and Synder said no such restriction exists. She noted Intel was prepared to sell the property with no restrictions on what it could potentially be.
Director of Planning and Community Development Kristina Johnson said National Development did go through and finish the subdivision process begun by Intel to secure a zoning freeze on the property for a future tenant, which was endorsed by the Planning Board at its Oct. 17 meeting.
“It is an official subdivision process,” said Johnson.
Johnson said they have been meeting with abutters to 75 Reed Road because there would be an impact on them with any development. She noted the town wants to have “a much different process” than the previous one with the last developer, Portman Industrial. Portman sought to construct a 1.28 million-square-foot distribution warehouse on the property.
She said they are hoping for “a much more transparent process” and to develop relationships with the abutters at the Villages at Quail Run and other communities.
Snyder said they would not always see eye-to-eye with all parties on the property’s future, but the company would listen and think about the next step. It is a learning process, and she said they are “continuing to do their homework” on the possibilities.
“We don’t know yet what the future of 75 Reed Road could be,” she said. “We’re just casting that wide net.”
