Framingham Planning Board Approves Modifications To Nobscot Plaza Re-Development

By Caroline Gordon

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FRAMINGHAM – Th 5-member Framingham planning board unanimously voted on the approval of continued modifications of 770 Water Street during a meeting April 7.

Katherine Garrahan, a real estate lawyer from Bowditch & Dewey, on behalf of Framingham Nobscot LLC, said the current applicant purchased the property in 2021 from CenterCore Properties and is requesting for minor modifications of previous decisions dated December 2, 2021 and February 7, 2020.

“The applicant has begun remediation work and is soon to begin demolition work. They are very eager to get going and get as much accomplished in 2022 as possible,” she said.

Garrahan added that at a community meeting, hosted by the applicant, concerns were raised regarding parallel parking.

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“We wanted to make it clear that those spaces were included as informational, where those spaces could fit if in the future, it was desired to pursue those. They are not included in the parking count for the site, the parking remains at 265 spots, which was what was approved in the decision – they are not on the table right now as part of this modification request,” she said.

Framingham Planning Board Chair Kristina Johnson said, “Thank you for clarifying the parallel parking
issue – that has become a point of discussion in the community.”

Framingham Planning Board Vice Chair Joseph Norton said, he lives near the site and is “not opposed
to the street parking.”

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According to Peter Spellios, from Transom Real Estate, the asbesto abatement has begun and
the buildings will soon be coming down.

Spellios added that phase two renovations include, a bocce court and the separation of the
residential and retail entrances.

He added that electricity as a power source is also a strong possibility.

Spellios said, “We are excited to move this forward and to finish phase two – we’re ready to
bring a material part of Nobscot to completion.”

Johnson said, “I think these modifications are even better than what we had originally approved.
I love the overall design and some of the tweaks that have been made to the site plan.”

Construction is expected to last 18 to 24 months.

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Caroline Gordon, a spring 2021 SOURCE intern is a senior English major with a concentration in journalism at Framingham State University. Gordon is the Arts and Features editor for Framingham State’s student newspaper, The Gatepost. Connect with Caroline on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-gordon98