Douglas ZBA Unanimously Approves 85-Foot Variance for 1.67-Million-Square-Foot Warehouse

DOUGLAS -- October 1, 2025, Douglas zoning board clears 85-foot height variance for proposed 1.67-million-square-foot warehouse at 150 Gilboa Street. The Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously October 1 to grant the variance to CRG Acquisitions LLC, the same developer that built the logistics building at 123 Gilboa Street, under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40A, Section 10. Project engineer Todd Morey of Beals Associates told the board the proposed single building replaces an earlier three-building, 2.8-million-square-foot concept and would be set back more than 1,800 feet from Gilboa Street, with its taller section largely screened from public roads. Company representative Frank Bittkinlis said the still-unnamed prospective tenant requires a building peaking at roughly 77 feet internally and would bring more than 1,000 permanent jobs and significant new tax revenue to Douglas. Attorney Kathleen Heyer of Pierce Atwood argued site remediation costs from decades of sand and gravel extraction constitute the financial hardship required under the variance statute, noting the board had already granted 75-foot and 90-foot height variances for the same parcel in 2021.