Woburn City Council Okays First 'Vale' Projects At 'Gelly' Site

WOBURN, MA — Woburn City Council approved special permits for two developments at the former Atlantic Gelatin site off Montvale Avenue, at their Dec. 15 meeting.

The two proposals, the first two "Vale Boston" projects to receive approval, were for hundreds of units of housing and assisted living.

Developer Leggat McCall purchased the former Kraft "Gelly" site in 2018 and plans a mixed-use development. Attorney Joseph Tarby, speaking on behalf of both petitioners, said that petitions for a medical office building and a hotel will be presented soon, but the housing is needed first to find tenants for the planned 800 thousand square feet of office space.

The first petition came from LCS, a senior care company. That project will include 103 congregate living units, 84 assisted-living units and 36 memory care units, for a total of 223 units.

The second petition, from Pulte Homes, was for 75 townhome units and 122 apartments — 197 in total.

Both proposals faced significant opposition from public commenters, who said they were concerned about the traffic, noise and environmental impacts.

Kim Barrows of 28 Albany Street spoke against both projects, saying that neighbors should have been more involved in the development of the project. Barrows questioned why the projects were housing, when the Technology and Business Overlay district, designed for the parcel, seems to be designed for high tech offices.

Council members defended the process, saying they spent years on it and that all of the proposals were publicly available.

Tarby reiterated that plans for the site still include hundreds of thousands of square feet of office and lab space.

Both proposals were approved unanimously with Richard Gately and Joseph Demers abstaining.

The full meeting is available here from Woburn Public Media Center.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.