North Grafton Transit Village STRATEGIC PLAN FINAL REPORT Prepared by: Dodson & Flinker, Landscape Architects and Planners Brovitz/Community Planning & Design Prepared For: The Town of Grafton, MA 7/12/17 Community Planning Brovitz & Design North Grafton Transit Village MASTER PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION 3 2.0 CONTEXT AND SETTING 14 3.0 PROPERTY CHARACETERISTICS, TRENDS, AND FUTURE VISION 37 4.0 LAND USE REGULATIONS • Base Zoning Districts • Overlay Zoning Districts • Other Development Regulations 41 5.0 THE PUBLIC’S VIEW 47 6.0 NORTH GRAFTON TRANSIT VILLAGE ILLUSTRATIVE PLAN 53 7.0 CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES, AND ACTIONS • General Development Constraints • General Attributes and Opportunities • Vision Statement, Guiding Principles, & Goals • Strategic Action Plan 73 APPENDIX A 75 APPENDIX B 1.0 INTRODUCTION Village Strategic Area Plan. The Town then retained the consulting team of Dodson & Flinker Associates The 2001 Townwide Master Plan identified the area and Brovitz Community Planning & Design to assist surrounding the North Grafton MBTA Station as a the community in developing the strategic area plan. “Transportation Village” indicating the opportunities In preparing the plan, the project team evaluated the for mixed uses supported by commuter rail service development potential along Route 30, Pine Street, between Worcester and Boston, proximity to major Centennial Park, the Tufts Campus, and other prop- transportation corridors, business development erties identified on the NGTV Project Area Map. This potential in the adjacent Grafton Science Park and included an assessment of the following: Centech Park, potential for reuse of former Grafton State Hospital properties, and the draw of Tufts Uni- • Existing land uses, conditions, and trends. versity Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. • Existing and future infrastructure capacities and As a follow up to the Master Plan, the North Graf- necessary improvements. ton Transit Village (NGTV) Strategic Area Plan further defines the potential for a mixed-use village, focused • Natural constraints with a key focus on identifying on the MBTA commuter rail station, and other prop- development potential for the project area. erties held in private and public ownership. This Stra- tegic Area Plan addresses various challenges and • Consideration of employment projections associ- opportunities related to future development and ated with development potential at the Grafton re-development within the project area, including Science Park and Centech Park. historic and cultural resources, environmental con- straints and attributes (e.g., water resources, open The project team engaged residents, business and space, and habitat preservation), recreation, infra- property owners, and public officials through a series structure, housing needs and demands, economic of visioning workshops, stakeholder meetings, a development initiatives, and design objectives. This visual preference survey, and public presentations plan also provides an overall vision, conceptual devel- to solicit input in preparing the strategic plan. The opment scenarios, and action strategies moving for- result is the NGTV Strategic Area Plan that addresses ward in creating a mixed-use village. the above-mentioned challenges and opportunities, while providing a vision plans illustrating preferred The Town of Grafton obtained funding through the future development scenarios with strategic actions Massachusetts Community Compact Initiative and for infrastructure improvements, zoning bylaw revi- the Planning Assistance Through Housing (PATH) sions, and other measuring to enhance land for devel- grant programs to develop the North Grafton Transit opment. One of the principal challenges for the proposed Transit Village site is how to pull together many disparate properties into a cohesive, walkable center with a strong sense of place. Dodson & Flinker | Brovitz/Community Planning & Design Page 1 PROJECT AREA CONTEXT S S o ¤£20 t M r u P e S S 290 l e p t l a e a e h t §¨¦ a t u r r i e n M n t e n M e S e v t e t n A a a t ai s r t t i M S M t r n t e o i e e t t i o re w r l e St e c e k n l h N t e õÅ140 t e e p u u n t o a n n n l t o r l M i e o o t v e S h d t C A f M e SHREWSBURY a r Q a o t d A l r t Bel R m r u te S o ces v s n Wor O r t ston 135 G Bo õÅ i e e o n t Stree ike n t rnp G u n G T s w S c u o h i r r t t r e te g t lmo )"9 orces e e n W a r n a B t sto g u n Bo a e e n e f f o n t e m e t k i u l e Street Turnpi o o r u o S p t n ike O o r a n n n urnp C e n T a o n e ost e t v M B k i v C npi s d H Tur A A )"9 n i sto S r Bo le c ap tr l e M e e r enu e he Av t is t F ee WESTBOROUGHé tr A S L (!î v a e k n e ¤£20 u S e e o t v e i A u r k e L v t e h a D a r n e i L t l k n a Q S a e i d u r M u r A e e o t i o k t v n tf i s e s r p e m WESTBOROUGH e n ig a n e e r u am r W t e ond H u M T S Project area: see facing page Nourse A Street L v a e k n ro e o é u tb y s (!î e r e d u W oa GRAFTON and b R G derl s r n t a Su w S e t f e t d r e r o oa e R r h e n t t s S t S e f )"30 w f h o t t N t u u S s o t C o e r S r e w f t h f e h t o t u t o u M S C G a raf to i n n ¤£ Ro ter 20 ad Worces §¨¦90 §¨¦90 t Stree õÅ140 GRAFTON W o r M S c t e i r s l e t l e b e t r u r UPTON y A v e n S u S o e t u r t e h e MILLBURY t e ury u llb n Mi et e tre v S õÅ122 A fton Gra e treet w anal S o C õÅ140 H Street P ro v U S id P S p r t t tr e o r o e n v e n e c R i e t e d t o e a n d 0 0.c5 1 2 e W õÅ122A Miles e Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geograsphics, S t Å146 CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AeroGRFIeDe,t IGN, andt thMe GIS User õ r e a SUTTON 0 2,65õÅ1022A 5,300 10,600 e in Community ot SUTTON Page 2 North Grafton Transit Village Strategic Plan | Final Report 2.0 CONTEXT AND SETTING Park, MBTA station, and other smaller properties. Grafton Science Park and Centech are State Priority The North Grafton Transit Village (NGTV) Project Area Development Areas. The project area borders the is centered on the intersection of Pine Street and Shrewsbury town line where Pine Street becomes Westboro Road (Route 30). The project area is 3.5 Centech Blvd and connects with Route 20 (Hartford miles from the Massachusetts Turnpike Exit 11 (Mill- Turnpike) about a mile from the Pine Street and bury) via Rt. 122 and Rt. 30, 1.0 mile south of Rt. 20, Route 30 intersection. Much of the land between the and 6.0 miles west of Rt. 495 via Rt. 9 and Rt. 20. Shrewsbury town line and Route 20 is wooded with some rural residential and scattered industrial uses. Land in this vicinity was originally part of the Graf- ton State Hospital which was established in 1901 The area south of the NGTV Project Area is predomi- as a farm colony for “chronic insane patients”. The nately rural residential and suburban subdivisions é (!î State purchased about 700 acres from local families located off Old Westboro Road, Wesson Road and in North Grafton and Shrewsbury to increase the East Street. They are connected to the Project Area by capacity of the main Worcester State Hospital and to Waterville Street, Institute Road, and Willard Street. provide therapeutic work for patients with an agricul- tural focus. The Hospital closed in 1973 as part of the The area surrounding the North Grafton Commuter State’s first phase of “deinstitutionalization” involving Rail Station represents an unique opportunity for the the decommissioning and repurposing of these facili- community to transform what is currently a collection ties. of rural landscapes, suburban office parks and indus- trial sites, scattered homes, and institutional uses, Over the years, the former Grafton State Hospital and unite them into a walkable transit village. While grounds has been divided up and reused as the Tufts the 2001 Grafton Master Plan identified the logic of Veterinary School campus, US Jobs Corps, Grafton this approach from a Smart Growth perspective, the õÅ140 SHREWSBURY Science Park, Department of Youth Services, Centech NGTV Project Area presents significantWEST challenges:BOROUGH e v i ¤£20 r d r D o e l k tf i a r p i a r n H r o u T m e M et tre Job Corps S e rs ou Centech Park N Westboro GRAFTONé Road MBTA (!î ry u b t s e w e r e t r S " h )30 Tufts S e l l i t v e r e e r t t a S W N o r S t t h r e M e a t i n N o S r North Grafton Transit Villaget project area t h r e M GRAFTON e t a i n W orcester Dodson & SFlinkertreet | Brovitz/Community Planning & Design Page 3 õÅ122 §¨¦90 §¨¦90 õÅ140 W o r S c t e re s e te t r 0 0.225 0.45 0.9 Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar GMeoilegsraphics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AeroGRFIeDe,t IGN, and the GIS User 0ComõÅ1m40u1n,0it0y0 2,000 4,000 o The Grafton State Hospital Administration Building (Historic Postcard Courtesy J Chilton) • Transitioning from an automobile-dependent pat- SITE ANALYSIS tern of development and separated uses into a mixed use village.