A developer received unanimous approval from the Londonderry Planning Board to build four industrial buildings on long-vacant and underutilized land now that construction of the new Exit 4A off Interstate 93 is well underway.
The buildings proposed by Trammell Crow Co., a global real estate development firm, will consist of a total of 751,600 square feet, according to the plans. The developer came before the Planning Board four times before approval.
The project will be called Gateway Commerce Park and is being touted as a “best-in-class” industrial park, which will include different uses, such as light industrial, manufacturing, research and development and warehouse/distribution. Construction of the buildings is set to begin in the spring of 2026 and last four years as part of a phased approach, Jim Petropulos, an engineer with Hayner/Swanson Inc., said at a Planning Board meeting last month.
As part of the plans, Trammell Crow has reached an agreement with the developer of Woodmont Commons, a mixed-used development on the west side of Interstate 93. The land to be developed is on the east side of the highway.
The buildings will be south of a new connector road named Old Rum Trail and have two full-access driveways, according to the plans. The building will take up about 50 acres of the lots which make up the 109-acre property.
Old Rum Trail will connect to Folsom Road in Derry.
A full traffic impact analysis has not been conducted, but the industrial park is expected to draw 1,000 average daily trips and 100 during peak hours for a distribution center use, according to a memo to the board. Traffic studies for the Exit 4A project considered a higher volume of traffic for the undeveloped land, according to the project team.
“The projection of volumes for these intersections analyzed in the Exit 4A analysis included significant traffic (more than currently proposed) associated with the subject parcel,” wrote Jennifer Conley, director of transportation for Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc.
The project will allow new industry to open up in New Hampshire. He said exit 4A is being built to “encourage good development to the state of New Hampshire,” Petropulos said.
Trammell Crow, in partnership with Diamond Realty Investments, built a nearly 325,000-square-foot industrial facility at 55 Robert Milligan Parkway in Merrimack, which can be seen from Interstate 293.
The buildings in Londonderry will have flat roofs and be fully equipped for solar panels in the future, Petropulos said. The building material includes insulated concrete and metal panels.