The Town of Danvers Zoning Board of Appeals voted 4-0 April 14 to grant a use variance allowing a 33,000‑square‑foot indoor recreation, entertainment and sports facility at 10 Newbury Street (Suite 5), also listed as 20 Archmeadow Drive, in the highway corridor zone.

The board approved Docket No. 25-5100 to permit the tenant, Urban Air (an indoor adventure/play facility), to occupy the former Big Lots space. The motion included a condition that the property owner work with the town’s planning staff to address site circulation with directional signage, pavement markings and other flow improvements.

The variance allows a use not normally permitted in the highway corridor zoning district. Board members said they were persuaded by the applicant’s description of the operation, the site’s existing parking capacity and the owner’s willingness to accept the traffic- and safety‑related condition.

Benchmark Group, an architecture and engineering firm, presented the application on behalf of the proposed tenant. Joey Wilder of Benchmark said the concept includes trampolines, foam pits, climbing walls, a small cafe and party rooms and that typical participants would be about 5 to 17 years old. Wilder said weekday hours would be about 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays would run roughly 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sundays 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wilder added a typical staffing level would be roughly 20 to 50 employees depending on day and parties, and that construction of interior attractions generally runs a minimum of about three months depending on scope.

Attorney Nancy McCann, who represented the property owner, told the board the owner supports the recreational use and agreed the owner would work with planning staff to improve circulation, signage and pavement markings. "The owner certainly wants a safe place for all of its tenants and particularly for this use," McCann said.

Planning Director Brian Zucchelli provided parking and zoning context: the 33,000‑square‑foot tenant space would require about 99 spaces under the zoning table, and the overall retail site is credited with roughly 929 parking spaces versus a required total of about 915 spaces for the whole parcel, meaning the site is over‑parked under the zoning calculation. Zucchelli noted final occupant load and exact capacity will be verified at the building‑code plan review stage; the applicant estimated an occupant load in the 500–600 range if the space were fully used at once.

Board members focused much of the discussion on site circulation and safety in the large shared parking area that serves multiple retail and service tenants, including Planet Fitness and the Registry of Motor Vehicles. John Bowner (clerk) and other members noted existing potholes, ambiguous circulation paths and the potential for conflicts between service traffic and families with children. Several board members said they were comfortable approving the variance because the owner agreed to conditions and because similar entertainment uses had been allowed in other units on the property in the past.

After deliberation, the board made a motion to issue the use variance under Table 1 of the zoning by‑law to operate a 33,000‑square‑foot indoor recreation/entertainment/sports facility in a zone where that use is not allowed, finding the proposed use would not be substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood and that adjacent properties would not be adversely impacted. The motion included the condition that the owner work with planning staff to address directional signage, pavement markings and site flow. The motion passed unanimously (4-0).

The board recorded the application as Docket No. 25-5100. Next steps for the project include any required building permit and code review to confirm occupant load and to complete site‑level coordination with planning staff on the agreed signage and pavement work.