New site plan proposed after Target backs out of building distribution center in Westfield

WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A new preliminary site plan is being submitted for the former Target Distribution Center proposal in Westfield based on community feedback.

A news release was sent to 22News from Matt Watkin, project spokesman at Falcon Landing stating a Notice of Project Change is being submitted for a scaled-down development plan.

In 2022 Target Corporation was considering a distribution center near Barnes Air National Guard base but has since backed out of pursuing the site. Since then, commercial real estate company, Winstanley Enterprises which owns 1111 Southampton Road, has partnered with NorthPoint Development to notify the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) that they now have control of the site.

The proposed project, called “Falcon Landing” will be a 524,000-square-foot general distribution facility on a 126-acre site between Falcon Drive and North Road/Route 202. They plan on having 362 parking spaces, 322 tractor-trailer spaces (88 of which are to be “land banked” for future use, if needed).

The team developed a preliminary site plan based on the concerns of the neighbors and community. In the new proposal, they have included the following changes:

• Eliminating all access from North Road.
• Eliminating the cold-storage use of the building along with trailer maintenance facility and a transportation building.
• Positioning the building completely outside of the water resource protection zone.
• By reducing parking by 30%, the amount of impervious area and total land alteration will also be reduced.
• Specifying more stringent stormwater management practices including oil water separators, zoned shut-off valves, and pretreatment of parking area run-off to further protect the water resource protection district.
• Dramatically reducing water consumption by 67%.
• Maintaining existing mature vegetation along North Road and providing additional landscaping to bolster visual screening.
• Ensuring that grassland priority habitat areas are protected.
• Meeting the stringent requirements of the July 2023 state building code modifications and committing to using 100% electric heat and hot water.

The file below shows what the Target Corporation proposed versus Falcon Landing’s preliminary site plan for comparison.

A tenant has not secured the site at this time however, the warehouse is being planned to be built if one isn’t secured prior to construction in 2024 pending approvals.