Image courtesy of DiMella Shaffer

Lexington officials have approved developer Trammell Crow’s plans to demolish the Quality Inn and Suites hotel and build a 335,000-square-foot life science complex.

The 440 Bedford St. project is the first to be approved under town’s new lab-friendly zoning for commercial properties near Route 128, known as the Hartwell Innovation Park (HIP) district.

Under a new fast-track permitting process, the planning board unanimously approved the site plan just 56 days after developers submitted their application, Lexington Economic Development Director Sandhya Iyer said. The final step is a Conservation Commission review scheduled to begin Nov. 22.

The developer plans a six-story lab building connected by an enclosed walkway to a 6-story parking garage. The 6-acre property near the Exit 49 cloverleaf on Route 128 contains three hotel buildings and a former restaurant completed in 1972.

Spanning 260 acres, the HIP District Zoning eliminated maximum floor area ratios and allows building heights up to 115 feet on Hartwell Avenue and a portion of Bedford Street, while targeting planning board approval within 60 days.

Other Boston suburbs are seeking to attract life science developers and revitalize aging office and retail districts.

In September, Burlington approved a new “Innovation District” spanning nearly 150 acres near Route 128 that allows twice the density of previous zoning.

And Medford economic development officials are studying rezoning of the commercial district near Wellington Circle amid rising demand for life science space. The Davis Cos. is building out spec lab suites in its One Cabot office building, while Boston-based developer RISE Together is proposing an 8-story lab building at 4054 Mystic Valley Parkway.