ATHOL – The town of Athol would like to see a combination hotel/conference center constructed on land near North Quabbin Commons which is owned by the town’s Economic Development and Industrial Corporation. First, however, there needs to be a plan for potential patrons to get to the proposed 70- to 80-room hotel, which would be located just off Route 2’s Exit 77, on property adjacent to where Dollar Tree and several other businesses are located, according to local officials. The difficulty in providing that access is that a wetland lies in the path of the proposed road to the site.
In a recent interview, Town Manager Shaun Suhoski said that initial design work on the road has been completed and the engineer hired by the town is working on plans for expedited permitting for the work.
“We are under contract with Bohler Engineering,” he said. “They have completed preliminary design for the wetland crossing which will be required and they are analyzing the best path forward for the permitting. There are different thresholds that might apply that would either trigger a full-on MEPA (Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act) review, or a less intrusive permit by permit application, for example through Mass DEP (Department of Environmental Protection), through DOT – for secondary highway access – and then local conservation commission as well.”
Regardless of whether the permitting process takes the lengthier or the quicker path, Suhoski said he’s confident the town will eventually get the go-ahead to construct the road which is crucial to the development of the site.
“They are analyzing the best engineering approach,” he said, “and what would be the best, most efficient way to move toward permitting. We do see a path forward, whether we have to go through full MEPA or not, but if we can avoid that duplication of the full MEPA process then it will allow the budget to carry our design and engineering documents probably through to construction documents.
“We still have a target of early 2023, probably March, where we should have some permitting in hand to be well down the road, as well as those design documents. Then the plan is that next spring — we don’t have a date yet, but probably April or May — will be the next One Stop application for the commonwealth. Well, the new governor could change that, but I assume that early in their tenure they may carry forth with the One Stop. But that’s the schedule we’re on now and we’re targeted for.”
Suhosk said the timeline also gives the town the chance to re-engage with MassDevelopment for assistance in reaching out in an effective manner to the private sector investment community and to examine those hotels that could feasibly be constructed on the site. The town manager said the agency has the technical and real estate expertise to assist in making those contacts.
The feasibility study was completed in early 2020 and paid for with a $25,000 grant from MassDevelopment.
“Projects like this take time,” Suhoski continued. “Sometimes a turn of events can really help to move them along quickly, sometimes you just kind of keep your way down the pipeline. For that 15-acre site to be activated, we have to have access to it to make it ‘turn-key.’ That’s really what all this pre-planning is about, and if we can get a grant to help subsidize the access road itself and get the infrastructure going, I believe we’ll find an investor to build the facility … buy the land and build the facility.”
He said the One Stop grant he anticipates will be applied for next year would, if approved, fund the construction of the road and infrastructure needed to serve the site.
“If this was a standalone development,” Suhoski explained, “the amount of wetland, the engineers estimate, is less than 5,000 square feet, which would simply allow us to replicate it. But, where the road will cross the wetland is actually on Athol Development LLC property, so you cross it before you get to the EDIC property. We’re kind of in a bureaucratic quandary. Do we have to do a full-blown MEPA thing, or can we just get the 5,000-square-foot allowance and replicate and move along.”
Athol Development LLC owns and oversees the eastern portion of North Quabbin Commons. Market Basket real estate developer Retail Management & Development oversees the western side of the property.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.