BJ’s to move into former Raytheon site
The former Raytheon site on Seyon Street will soon become home to a BJ’s Wholesale Club, according to documents from the city’s Building Department.
The developers, Samuels and Associates, have completed the permitting process to build a new structure by rights, meaning they will not need any special permits from the City Council, according to Patrick Powell, the city’s building inspector.
Some demolition has already begun on the parcel, which is located at the newly-renumbered 66 Seyon Street (formerly 20 Seyon Street).
The developers plan to raze the existing structures and build a new, 122,000 square foot building with more than 700 accompanying parking spots. The lot, which measures at just over 18 acres, will also have 3 traffic entrances, according to the documents.
The project is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2010 and BJ’s will move in some time after, said Joel Sklar, principal for Samuels and Associates.
“We think BJ’s will have a terrific presence in the community,” he said. “They are good neighbors.”
A few years ago, Samuels and Associates tried unsuccessfully to bring a Lowe’s home improvement store to the parcel. But the developers ran into problems when they approached the City Council asking for a special permit for reduced parking, said Councilor at Large Sally Collura.
“Every resident within three-quarters of a mile in that area kept telling the City Council “say no to Lowe’s” make them go away,” Collura said.
Councilors began to question whether Seyon Street was a public or private road, leading to a legal battle in a Boston land court, she said. While the court eventually ruled that Seyon Street is indeed a public road, Samuels and Associates withdrew their permit request, she said.
(See previous Boston Globe coverage HERE.)
For Ward 5 Councilor Gary Marchese, the news of a BJ’s moving into Seyon Street without needing special permits is not surprising.
“We lost the court case and that opened the door to this development,” he said. “The City council has no application or petition before it to review, so it can impose no conditions on this kind of development. In some ways my hands are tied.”
And though the BJ’s building will be smaller than the proposed Lowe’s store, Marchese still thinks traffic will be an issue.
“I don’t think it’s going to work if there aren’t infrastructure improvements and their customers are inconvenienced,” Marchese said. “I hope the [developers] understand that and are willing to work with us.”
But Samuels and Associates does not think traffic pose any problems, and plan to move forward without opting for roadway improvements, Sklar said.
“We and BJ’s think it is very adequate or BJ’s wouldn’t be coming here,” he said. “We do not have any plans or permission to do any work on the roadways.”
Nor does Sklar anticipate complaints or issues from the neighbors, saying that BJ’s will fulfill the community’s need for groceries.
“They are good neighbors in the community,” he said, of BJ’s. “We’re comfortable it’s adequate and we’ll be very successful.”
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