N.Y. company to redevelop Polaroid site in Waltham
The New York firm that developed Manhattan's Time Warner Center has big plans for Waltham, while city councilors Monday took steps to spur development near Route 128.
Yesterday Related Cos. L.P. of New York said it has entered into an agreement with Polaroid Corp. to redevelop that company's 119-acre headquarters site in Waltham, which looks out onto Route 128, into a mixed-use project that would presumably include office space, stores, and possibly a hotel and residences.
Meanwhile, Waltham councilors took steps to encourage development along the highway by creating new zoning designations for a wide swath of land off Totten Pond Road to allow for restaurants and retail businesses in an area of office parks.
The goal is to boost the city's tax revenue while also giving developers the chance to upgrade about a half-dozen older buildings in the new district, which is just north of the Polaroid site.
Details of the Related Cos. transaction with Polaroid were not disclosed, and the real estate company would say little about its plans yesterday, except to highlight the site's prime location.
``This is one of the largest sites available in Massachusetts next to a major highway," Related executive vice president Glenn Goldstein said in a statement .
The Related transaction, however, affirms that ``Waltham is absolutely the best suburban market" in Massachusetts, partly because of its proximity to major highways, said Alex Dauria , senior vice president at the Boston real-estate services firm Spaulding & Slye , a member of the Jones Lang LaSalle group.
Polaroid chairman Stewart L. Cohen said his company's agreement with Related allows Polaroid to lease back the property for up to three years.
But highway access and traffic issues may be a challenge for anyone redeveloping the Polaroid site. Route 128 exits are less than a mile away. And motorists must drive through neighborhoods to get to the property, Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy said.
``I'm adamant about fixing traffic first," she said.
A Related spokeswoman said the firm has been in talks with developer Samuel Park, who wants to build an office park just south and west of the Polaroid property, near the intersection of routes 128 and 20. Park has proposed that a new ramp be built and other changes made to reconfigure the Route 20 exit in a way that would divert traffic from residential neighborhoods and benefit both his project and the Polaroid site.
Park said he and Related Cos. would make ``significant contributions" toward financing the ramp.
City Councilor Robert Logan, meanwhile, said the new development district the council adopted Monday would affect up to six older office buildings near Totten Pond Road, Third Avenue, and Prospect Hill Park. Under the plan, owners could apply either to expand or replace existing buildings with structures up to six stories tall that could include stores and cafes as well as offices.
Logan said the zoning change would help Waltham compete with other municipalities along Route 128 for office and retail tenants.
And, he said, an added benefit could be reduced traffic congestion in neighborhoods near the new district, assuming office workers would be able to run errands to nearby shops rather than making trips to other parts of the city.
Several other city councilors, however, countered that the change might only worsen traffic by making the area a destination for commuters and shoppers.
Logan characterized the zoning change as a pilot project that, if successful, could be applied to other parts of Waltham's Route 128 corridor.
Globe staff writer Thomas C. Palmer Jr. contributed to this report. Chris Reidy can be reached at reidy@globe.com. 
