A Seyon Street site that was once slated for a Lowe’s home improvement store will now be home to a BJ’s Wholesale Club, according to a spokeswoman for the developer of the property.
Diana Pisciotta, spokeswoman for Boston-based Samuels and Associates, said an 117,000-square-foot BJ’s is planned for the 20 Seyon St. location., which the developer will build “by right.”
The old Raytheon building on the site is now being demolished to make way for the warehouse club building.
In 2007, Samuels and Associates pitched a 143,000-square-foot Lowe’s for the site, a proposal that at that time was met with an outcry from neighboring residents who were concerned about traffic and other quality of life issues.
Samuels and Associates withdrew its special permit application to the City Council in May 2007 and vowed to go ahead with the project under existing zoning rules and without conditions imposed by the city.
The developer then won an important legal decision against the city last fall, when a judge ruled that the Seyon Street was a public way.
The city had argued that it owned the rights to Seyon Street and it was neither a public nor private way and therefore could not be used as a point of access for the proposed development.
Pisciotta said she couldn’t yet comment on the reason for the switch from Lowe’s to a BJ’s at the site, but said a press release is being prepared.
Richard Conn can be contacted at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.
