Saint-Gobain presents facade replacement and three additions at Northborough public hearing; board continues review

Saint-Gobain Research North America presented a proposed renovation of Building 1 at 9 Goddard Street and requested site-plan approval and groundwater-overlay review at a Dec. 2 Planning Board public hearing.

John Sullivan, partner at SGA, the architect on the project, told the board the plan centers on an interior reconfiguration of a roughly 100,000-square-foot research building, with three modest additions (about 1,800 sq ft, 3,200 sq ft, and a two-level northwest addition totaling approximately 17,000 sq ft). Sullivan said the scope also includes a replacement-in-kind of the building façade designed to meet the Massachusetts stretch-energy code and to improve the building’s insulation and energy performance.

Don, a Saint-Gobain representative, reviewed the campus context, saying the research campus spans about 26 acres with six buildings and that the research center has been in Northborough for decades. The applicant said current on-site parking and a planned off-site lot would accommodate added employees and that the project would not change the building height. Sullivan said current hazardous materials would be stored in approved cabinets and asserted that quantities on site would comply with the International Building Code limits; he said civil engineers at Langan would provide documentation showing groundwater protections and containment strategies for stormwater and hazardous-material management.

Planning staff and board members asked for additional technical details. The board requested a locus plan at 1" = 100' showing existing parking counts, the location of ADA-accessible spaces and EV chargers, and clarity on walkways and crosswalks that could connect to a future off-site lot. The applicant said the Building 1 lot currently has eight EV charging spots expandable to 16 and described a planned lot across the street with roughly 207 spaces as a separate project.

The Planning Board also noted memos from the Department of Public Works and the Conservation Commission; ConCom is scheduled to consider the project Dec. 8, staff said. The board asked the applicant to respond point-by-point to a staff memo and to supply the locational, retaining-wall and guardrail clarifications being discussed.

After discussion the board voted by roll call to continue the public hearing to Dec. 16 at 6:00 p.m. The motion carried unanimously. The applicant said it would supply the requested scaled plans and technical corroboration in advance of the continued hearing.