The April 1 meeting of the Londonderry Planning Board included the annual update on the status of the Woodmont Commons Planned Unit Development (PUD), a 600-acre area located near I-93 at the exit 4.
“The measurement period for these particular years runs from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. In terms of the Woodmont Commons population, 520 residents were living at Woodmont on June 30, which was an increase of about 79 residents,” explained Lucy Gallo, who oversees fiscal reporting for the Woodmont development. “It’s very exciting over the years to see the buildout of Woodmont Commons as it becomes a live, work, play community.”
Her report found 227 employees and businesses located within Woodmont Commons. Much of the recent population growth was tied to the Baldwin Senior Living Community, an entity that recently took on non-profit status. While the Town has seen increased costs, such as the need for additional firefighters and a rise in school enrollment, there has also been new revenue from vehicle registrations and an expanded property-tax base.
“The annual tax revenues to the school district are $1.8 million, and cumulatively have generated $9.6 million for the school district,” Gallo said. “It is exciting to watch the growth of the PUD and the tax values it has generated for the community.”
According to the fiscal report, Woodmont Commons has generated nearly $16 million in net tax revenue since 2013. The full report is available on the Woodmont page of the Town website.
“It’s good to see that the plan worked,” said Board member John Farrell.
Pillsbury Realty & Development consultant Kevin Smith also attended the meeting to outline progress on several newer Woodmont projects.
“New for this last year are Wood Partners. With them, 264 multifamily units came online in late summer,” Smith said. “Beth Israel Lahey Clinic opened to the public officially this past February in 2026. That was originally built by Derry Medical Center, and they sold it to Lahey Clinic, so we’re very happy to have doctors from the Lahey network now operating out of Londonderry.”
Smith noted that Woodmont Commons is expected to benefit from on-going work on I-93’s Exit 4A and a new pump station on the north side of Pillsbury Road. Several projects, including the 310-unit condominium proposal from Procopio Enterprises, remain “in the pipeline,” though none have yet received Certificates of Occupancy.
“You really can’t count on anything until there’s a Certificate of Occupancy. The development process is a long, winding, complicated road that can often take many years,” Smith cautioned. “I have literally seen developments stall at every single phase along the way, including starting construction and not completing it.”
Several Board members expressed concern that many Woodmont proposals, especially commercial ones, have not materialized.
“It’s been 13 years; people are tired of hearing ‘we’re getting interest’ or ‘we’re this close.’ We talk about this every year, but it seems like the only thing getting built over there are residential units and doctor’s offices,” said Alternate Jason Knights. “Now we’re getting a rehab center, which is another doctor’s office, and more residential.”
Knights added that Londonderry may have “missed the window” for some of Woodmont’s non-residential potential and pointed to the amount of open, unused land still remaining.
“Why can’t there be a farmer’s market? A Christmas market?” Knights asked. “It’s taxpositive, and that’s great to hear, but people did not get excited about tax revenue. People got excited because we were sold on this great development.”
“Why hasn’t there been more retail establishments and stuff like that?” asked Chair Jake Butler.
Smith reiterated that Woodmont Commons was always envisioned as a “20-year buildout,” but acknowledged that retail progress has been slower than anticipated.
“To us, as residents, this area seems very accessible,” Smith said. “To a lot of these users, they see it as so far off 102 that they feel like they’ll be in no-man’sland.”
With new infrastructure such as Exit 4A coming online, Smith expressed cautious optimism that the PUD will see stronger business growth in the near future