MIDDLEBORO — A proposal for a three-building, 672,800 square foot warehouse to be built on 150 acres at 27 Harding Street will be presented to the community at a public hearing Aug. 15.

The Planning Board had scheduled a public hearing Aug. 1 but the issue was moved to Aug. 15 at the request of the developer.

Lincoln Project Company wants to construct three buildings on the site. The first building will feature approximately 147,800 square feet with 48 loading docks and 118 employee parking spaces to the north and 36 employee parking spaces to the east. 

The second building will cover about 145,000 square feet with 50 loading docks. The third building will consist of 380,000 square feet with 75 loading docks.

Additional parking lots are proposed between two Buildings B and C with 233 employee parking spaces and east of Building C with 302 employee parking spaces. Pending Town approval, the Project proposes to land bank a total of 324 parking spaces across all parking lots.

The project is allowed within the Development Opportunity District, with a special permit required by the Planning Board, Town Director of Planning Leeann Bradley said. 

A notice of intent will also need to be filed with the Conservation Commission for their approval, Bradley said. The project will not be required to appear before the Zoning Board of Appeals, she said. 

In its proposal,developers said that the project “will bring significant economic advantages to the Town of Middleboro.’’

The project, developers stated, “will not only expand but also diversify the commercial tax base,’’and generate about $672,000 in taxes.

Some residents and at least one environmental group have raised objections to the proposal. 

The area in question “has been for many decades a global biodiversity hotspot,’’ said Meg Sheehan of the Community Land and Water Coalition, an environmental advocacy group.

The land in question features wetlands which help filter drinking water, Sheehan said, and provide valuable water sources for wildlife.

She noted that a residential neighborhood is located nearby. “Neighborhoods are being encroached on more and more by industrial development.’’ 

​​The developers have agreed to maintain 100 acres as open space. A conservation restriction is proposed for a portion of the property. 

No client has been identified to use the warehouse, according to the project proposal.

Some residents have submitted statements through the Massachusetts Environmental Policy in opposition to the proposal. 

Matthew Bruffee, who lives near the proposed site, said the project “is putting warehousing in an unacceptable area for many reasons,’’ said resident Matthew Bruffee. The land has prehistoric archaeological significance, he wrote, and is “thriving with fox, coyote, rabbits, skunks, raccoons, deer, hawks and other birds.’’ He also noted the nearby streams “contain numerous varieties of cold water species especially trout and other fish and aquatics.’’

Another resident, Heather Kundzicz, said that she understands “the need for growth, taxes and places to live. But, this parcel of land is different.’’

She wrote that the proposed project “ sits on top of an aquifer serving the drinking water and wells of those nearby.’’

She noted that “rare and endangered species’’ live on the site, including the marbled mole salamander and Eastern Box turtle, and that wetlands and vernal pools are located “right under the proposed parking lot.’’

The public hearing is scheduled in the select board meeting room at 6:45 p.m. Aug. 15.