Planning board approves Restaurant Depot site at Green Tech Park with lighting, screening conditions

The Worcester Planning Board on July 15 approved site‑plan review for a 50,000‑square‑foot Restaurant Depot at the Green Tech Park on New Bond Street, allowing the wholesale operator to proceed as the park’s first tenant.

The project team, led by attorney Joshua Lee Smith and developer representatives from the Worcester Business Development Corporation, said the building will sit on about four acres with roughly 171 parking spaces, five loading bays and secure bicycle storage. Traffic consultant Sean Kelly told the board the developer’s empirical trip counts at comparable Restaurant Depot locations suggest peak arrival rates of roughly 25–35 vehicles entering and exiting per hour; he recommended a transportation demand management plan to encourage transit and rideshare use by employees.

Planning staff led by Michelle Smith recommended conditions the board ultimately included, requiring a final stormwater approach and submission of infiltration analyses (or detention if infiltration proves infeasible), additional landscaping, and a transportation demand management plan derived from the traffic study. Staff also proposed standard conditions about rooftop equipment screening and a 3,000‑Kelvin maximum for exterior lighting to limit blue‑light impacts.

Developer counsel asked for flexibility on two points. First, they said the site’s elevation and an existing tree buffer along Interstate 190 make full rooftop screening from the highway impractical; they asked the board to limit rooftop‑screening requirements to visibility from city streets. Planning staff replied that the draft condition already calls for minimizing rooftop visibility and that staff would work with the applicant on practical, site‑specific screening details. Second, the applicant said some freestanding light‑pole fixtures are not available in 3,000 K; after discussion they committed to wall‑mounted fixtures at 3,000 K and agreed to pursue 3,000 K or equivalent mitigations for pole fixtures where feasible.

Councilor Tony Economo spoke in favor of the project during public comment, emphasizing the park’s job creation potential. Developers and WBDC leaders said the site is a key step in a larger master plan to reuse former Saint‑Gobain lands for advanced manufacturing and commercial uses.

After extended discussion, the board modified staff language so rooftop screening is required for equipment visible from surrounding city public ways but expressly excludes Interstate 190 as a public way for this condition; staff said the change preserves the board’s objective while recognizing practical constraints. The board also kept the lighting condition but allowed staff to work with the applicant on final fixture selection and counts.

A motion to approve the site plan and conditions carried on a roll‑call vote. The board recorded its approval and instructed staff to finalize written conditions for signing and subsequent building‑permit review.