Council grants special permit for supermarket at 112 Commerce Way with 13 conditions

WOBURN — The City Council granted a special permit on Monday to convert the vacant retail space at 112 Commerce Way into a supermarket, after the special permits committee recommended approval with 13 conditions.

Attorney Ryan Douglas, representing the petitioner, said the proposal would repurpose the space formerly occupied by Bob’s Discount Furniture into an ethnic supermarket intended to serve both the local Woburn community and a wider customer base. Douglas told the council the committee had recommended the petition “with a set of 13 conditions” covering health, safety and a traffic mitigation plan.

“The petition seeks to repurpose the space formerly occupied by the Bob’s Discount Furniture ... for a new ethnic supermarket,” Douglas said. He described required measures including rodent control, grease trap compliance, parking maintenance, snow procedures and a traffic mitigation plan that would add signage and police supervision as needed.

Councilor Mercer Braun thanked the petitioner and moved to approve; the council opened a public hearing, received no public testimony, and closed the hearing. The motion to grant the special permit, subject to the 13 conditions set out in the committee report, passed on a voice vote.

The committee report was entered into the record as the source of the conditions; council discussion did not add or remove conditions during the meeting. The council did not provide a roll‑call vote in the transcript; the approval was recorded by voice vote.

The permit will allow redevelopment of the existing retail suite to supermarket use contingent on meeting the committee’s conditions and complying with any permits required by city departments.