BEVERLY — Cell Signaling Technology is planning to expand its campus alongside Route 128 by building a new building and parking garage.
The building would be three stories tall and would create new lab space for the life sciences company, which was founded in Beverly in 1999. Peter Gourdeau, a development adviser for Cell Signaling Technology, or CST, said the expansion would lead to approximately 200 new jobs over the next decade.
"CST is growing," Gourdeau said.
Company officials have spoken with Mayor Mike Cahill about their plans and met with neighbors last week to discuss their concerns. The expansion would take place on the Beverly side of Cell Signaling Technology's 11-acre campus, which is about half in Beverly and half in Danvers.
"They came to us a while back and said, 'We need to expand,'" Cahill said. "We said, 'We don't want you to leave Beverly.' This is the plan they came back with."
Cahill said Cell Signaling could build a two-story building "by right," meaning without city approval. But the company has proposed a three-story building, which would require a zoning change. A three-story building would have a smaller footprint and be further away from neighbors, Cahill said.
Gourdeau said in an email that a zoning change "would allow a more sensitively planned expansion with reduced impact to its residential neighbors." The plan would include expanded setbacks, height limitations and an "enhanced landscaping buffer," he said.
Three stories are needed, he said, because lab space requires higher ceilings to accommodate the equipment necessary to keep the air circulating. The building would be 50 feet tall and include 80,000 to 100,000 square feet of lab space.
Gourdeau said it has not been determined if the parking garage would be a separate building or part of the new building.
Ward 1 City Councilor Todd Rotondo, who represents the area, said the company is listening to neighbors' concerns. The closest neighbors are on Cornell and Oberlin roads.
"It's still preliminary," Rotondo said. "The idea is to make sure we don't lose them. They were looking at other locations. We don't want to lose them as a corporate partner. My personal experience working with Cell Signaling was as a PTO president and they were always generous with science fairs and grants to the schools. As a corporate citizen they've always been great."
Cahill said a zoning change would have to be approved by the City Council, which would hold a joint public hearing with the Planning Board on the proposal.
Cell Signaling Technology started in Beverly in 1999 as a spinoff of New England Biolabs. In 2006, the company renovated the former King's Grant Inn on Trask Lane, next to Route 128 on the Beverly/Danvers line, into its headquarters. It also has a research and development location on Tozer Road in Beverly.
Cell Signaling has over 400 employees on the North Shore and 500 worldwide, according to the company.
Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.
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