Woburn Ordinance Committee Keeps Del Webb 504-Unit Senior Housing Plan in Committee

WOBURN -- February 25, 2026, Woburn ordinance panel keeps Pulte Homes' 504-unit Del Webb senior condo plan in committee amid tax base concerns. The City Council's Ordinance Committee heard a full presentation from Pulte Homes and its development partners February 25 on a proposed 504-unit, age-55-plus Del Webb condominium community on 33.55 acres of the former Kraft Foods site on Montvale Avenue, then agreed without a formal vote to hold the matter in committee pending further deliberation. Pulte's fiscal analysis projected a net annual tax benefit to the city of approximately $2.6 million at full buildout, with total site taxes reaching roughly $4.95 million, near the $5 million to $6 million originally projected when the Technology Business Overlay District was adopted in 2019. Multiple councillors said they could not support 504 units at the scale proposed, and at least one pressed Pulte directly: "Let's not play games, what is your bottom number?" A representative for the development partnership said the life science market that the site was zoned for has collapsed from roughly 6 million square feet of annual demand in 2019-2021 to approximately 1.5 million square feet today against 18 million square feet of regional supply, and estimated a 10-year recovery horizon. The committee separately voted unanimously to advance animal ordinance amendments raising dog-waste fines from $25 to $50 for a first offense and clarifying that physically capable service-dog owners remain subject to enforcement.