In Wellesley’s latest effort to take more control of development in town, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday said it’s exploring the possibility of buying three properties on Rte. 9 East that are adjacent to Hardy Elementary School.
Purchasing the properties at 818, 822 and 826 Worcester St., would both enable the town to play some defense against a proposed 40B project at two of those properties and also open the possibility for municipal uses for the land. Wellesley is becoming increasingly proactive about land development in light of a slew of 40B proposals launched over the past year designed to exploit the town’s shortage of affordable housing stock. Among other things, Wellesley has a Housing Production Plan in the works.
The town is cryptic about what possible municipal uses of 818-822-826 Worcester St., might be, but for those holding out hope that the Hardy school will not be done away with under the much discussed Hardy-Hunnewell-Upham plan, such a land grab holds great promise. The Board of Selectmen and School Committee will seek funding at a Special Town Meeting this spring to conduct further analysis of the Hardy and Upham Elementary School sites as the town plots its educational future.
“The Board [with the School Committee’s backing] believes that the purchase of these properties will substantially improve the long-term usefulness of the site to the Town by providing for a means of access and egress directly from Route 9 as well as adding over an acre of land. We are currently in discussions with the owners of these parcels and look forward to providing an update to the community as soon as we are able to,” according to a statement issued by the Board.
What’s murky here is that a developer says he already has a purchase and sale agreement in place with the owners of 818 and 822 Worcester St., and has aired plans to use the properties to construct a 4-story, 28-unit 40B condo complex. The developer’s lawyer spoke briefly at Tuesday’s Selectmen’s meeting to share his client’s objection to the town’s intentions, especially in light of there not being a solid plan for Hardy’s future.
An additional threat by the town to possibly take the properties by eminent domain, if a valuation on the properties can’t be agreed upon, no doubt has rubbed the developer the wrong way. This same developer has already had challenges with plans for a couple of 40B proposals near the Sprague Elementary School.
The town is negotiating separately with 826 Worcester St.’s owner.
This developer sounds like a real stand up guy. Trying to exploit Wellesley and it’s residents for personal gain. I hope the town sticks it to you and your cronies up on Beacon Hill buddy! But in all seriousness, I love the move here by the town. The town should be the one building the housing complex and capturing the profit. At least that way residents get the upside, not some interloper looking to make a quick buck. The town can put the profit back into the the schools or to improve Route 9 – maybe build some walkable sidewalks or do some landscaping to make it not look like a third world country.
High praise to the town for protecting the best interests and future of our school neighborhoods! Those who have been paying attention over the past year know the town has been increasingly proactive about fast-tracking affordable housing development, but in a way that will actually benefit future and current residents. The Housing Production Plan mentioned above and RFP for the friendly development Tailby/RR lots are just a couple of examples.
Pete, I’ve seen you comment on these posts before. Maybe that means you are more knowledgeable than most in respect to what is going on here.
Perhaps you could elaborate on why you think Taliby/RR lots are good places to build huge apartment buildings? Because quite frankly, just from a purely aesthetic standpoint, I’m not sure I agree. Actually, it seems like a horrible place to build apartment buildings. Since when is turning the quaint town center of Wellesley into a bustling city center like Coolidge Corner or Kendall Square in anyone’s best interest?
Secondly, how do you feel about the town buying land and building the apartment complexes themselves? It looks like the town just bought some land by Hardy school and might be thinking about doing that. That seems like a good idea to me. That way, the town can be the developer and the town can reap the profit. The profit would then go back to the residents/tax payers. This model would make this whole affordable housing thing much more palatable for town residents, because it’s like “OK, we are being forced to add density, which we do NOT want, but at least we can capture the upside and use that profit to make needed upgrades to town infrastructure and public spaces, like the parks.”
I think what is making folks so mad about all this 40B stuff is that these developers are being given free reign to build these massive complexes, AGAINST town wishes, and then the developer gets to make millions of dollars in profit and leave the town with the fallout from overbuilding. It quite frankly seems criminal that would be allowed. Shame on the politicians that would allow this to happen, but what is done is done. Now we have to take the matter into our own hands, take the power away from the politicians and developers, and it seems to me the best way to do that is to have the town buy the land in the appropriate locations and build the complexes themselves.
Thoughts?
Thanks for the questions and ideas, Victor.
With regard to the Tailby/RR RFP, I agree that aesthetic considerations are critical and don’t like the idea of a huge apartment building either. The RFP draft gives latitude for ideas, but specifically calls for proposals “that complement the integrity of the Town’s character, while also working to meet one or more 40B certification thresholds to protect the Town from future ‘unfriendly’ 40Bs.” It refers respondents to the ‘Height of Buildings or Structures’ section of the Town Zoning Bylaw. In my opinion, a good design will maintain our current character, better manage traffic and the connectivity between the Linden St area and the lower square and incorporate cultural and open space needs in a manageable way. The town would maintain ownership of the property and lease to “friendly” builder(s).
This is in stark contrast to the alternative “hostile” proposal just across the street at Delanson Circle. That project would be owned by an unfriendly developer and force 90 units into a much smaller area within an existing residential neighborhood, with traffic, drainage, fire access etc. shortcomings that will add SHI units, but negatively impact that part of town for decades.
I completely agree that using town-owned land for affordable housing is a far better solution and one that should be leveraged wherever it makes sense. But I am equally fond of private friendly 40B developments that maintain the town’s character without negatively impacting established neighborhoods. By law, there is a profit cap 40B developers can receive (20% owned / 10%/yr rental.) The problem is that many have successfully over-profited by inflating land appraisals and operating costs. In my opinion, any friendly developer that is willing to work directly with the town and residents to maintain character while helping to meet our affordable housing obligations, and reports development financials with integrity, deserves the allowed profit.
But ours aren’t the only opinions that matter, which is why we have our open Facebook forum at Our Affordable Wellesley: http://www.facebook.com/groups/ouraffordablewellesley. Please join if you haven’t already so others can learn more and weigh in.
So the Town is going to pay whatever it has to in order to prevent the development of affordable housing under the guise of helping out the schools? For shame! Another waste of taxpayer dollars.
Steve, I think you misunderstood. The town in going to develop the affordable housing itself. Rather than allow these renegade developers to slap together a bunch of hack jobs all over town and walk way with millions in profit. This way, the town controls the process and keeps the upside, which they can then plow into town improvements. It’s actually brilliant.