Burlington Selects Brovitz Community Planning & Design for Mall Road Rezoning Initiative
Ten-month process to involve community stakeholders
Burlington is advancing the development of a new regulatory framework for the area’s largest commercial district.
The Town has been studying the Mall Road-Middlesex Turnpike area for the past three years, beginning in 2020 with support of the Urban Land Institute and their Technical Assistance Program. This effort led to Town Meeting Approval as well as a state grant and a partnership with MassDevelopment to create a Concept Plan for the area; this phase of work was completed in August 2022. The plan identified nearly 100 acres of development opportunity within the commercial districts—most of which exists as under-utilized surface parking lots.
Now, Burlington has taken the next step and selected Brovitz Community Planning & Design to refine the previous effort and develop a new zoning framework to guide development along the Mall Road Corridor over the next ten to twenty years. Ted Brovitz, principal and owner, heads up the Brovitz Community Planning & Design team, which has a successful history working with several other New England communities such as Danvers, Scituate, and Portsmouth, NH developing and implementing innovative zoning and sustainable development initiatives.
The Town’s evaluation team included staff from the Planning Department and Economic Development Office as well as representatives from the Town’s elected boards: Nick Priest, Chair of the Select Board; Mike Runyan, Select Board Member; Brenda Rappaport, Chair of the Planning Board Chair; and Jennifer Sutherland, Planning Board Member.
To unlock the area’s potential and guide development, the Town is launching a 10-month process in collaboration with Brovitz Community Planning & Design to engage community stakeholders and craft new zoning for Town Meeting to consider in the fall of 2023.
For more information and ways to get involved, contact the Town’s Economic Development Office at ed@burlington.org or 781-505-1186
With thanks to the Burlington Economic Development Office
