• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Wellesley Square
  • School
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Charities/Community
  • Arts
  • Camp
  • Kids
  • Events
  • About us
  • Subscribe
  • Natick Report
  • COVID-19
  • Letters to the Editor
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Boston Sports Institute, Wellesley

To 40B or not to 40B in Wellesley: Big changes floated for Weston Road, Delanson Circle projects

December 20, 2018 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The developers of proposed 40B projects at 148 Weston Road (near the community gardens) and Delanson Circle (off Linden Street) aired non-40B alternatives that would greatly reduce the size of the buildings and number of units. The nearly 30 affordable units included in the original plans to gain the developers possible zoning breaks under the state’s 40B statute would largely go away under the revised scheme for condos to be offered at market rate (i.e., $$$) prices. This would allow developers to still make a profit while providing far fewer 1-, 2- or 3-bedroom units overall.

The plans, making their way through state and town approval processes since 2017, have been criticized by residents and town officials for being too dense for the existing neighborhoods. Concerns include worsening traffic,  pedestrian safety and more. Developers have sought to take advantage of Wellesley’s relatively small affordable housing stock under 40B rules in light of many surrounding communities already having safeguards against unfriendly developments in place, and the town has taken steps over the past year or so to gain more control, such as by creating a housing production plan.

Delanson Circle, WellesleyTown officials and neighbors of the proposed 148 Weston Road and Delanson Circle projects have applauded efforts by the developers to drastically revise their projects, though would still like to see smaller buildings and fewer or smaller units. The developers say they have begun receiving OKs from fire and other officials on their original plans, but still are open to revised projects. The Board of Selectmen set in motion on Monday the crafting of possible placeholders on the warrant (regarding amendments to zoning bylaws) to be discussed at this coming spring’s Town Meeting.

“I don’t believe we have the option of avoiding anything” happening at the locations, said Board of Selectmen Chair Jack Morgan. Getting placeholders in place on the warrant will put pressure on the town and developers to move things forward, he said.

Subscribe to get Swellesley’s daily email newsletter

For the Wellesley Crossing project on Delanson Circle, the developer’s proposed changes would include slashing the number of units from 90 to 42 and the number of parking spaces from 132 to 76. Setback space would double and the overall building volume would decrease by 25%. The developers have also snapped up a couple of properties on bordering Hollis Street, and they would used for affordable units as part of the complex. The average size of units under the condo plan would be closer to 1,700-1,800 sq. ft., about double the

average of the original plan, though much smaller than those being proposed for a possible development at the Tailby Lot property across the street, according to developer Victor Sheen. The developers say the building would shrink from 5 to 4 stories, though neighbors contend that it’s still really 5 stories if you count the garage, so they’d like to see 1 more floor nixed.

148 Weston Rd., proposed 40B site in Wellesley
148 Weston Rd. site

As for Wellesley Park project at 148 Weston Road, the proposed change would result in 18 rather than 55 units, and the design would include a gabled roof and other architectural features aimed at making the building fit in. Planning Director Michael Zehner, addressing the possibility of the project retaining affordable units, said developers explained they’d need to include more than 20 units overall to make that viable. While not addressing the lack of affordable units directly, developer Sheen did say that the project would still cater to residents looking for easy access to public transportation and shopping via new sidewalks on the west side of Weston Road. The building would shrink from 5 to 3 stories under the new plan, and would be set back much further from the neighboring North 40 woodlands.  To view the Board of Selectmen discussion on the projects, check out the Wellesley Public Media recording below at around the 2-hour mark. The discussion lasts for a bit more than an hour.

print

Share

Filed Under: Real estate

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Linden Square, Wellesley
Write Ahead

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to [email protected]
Wellesley Square ad
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Fay School, Southborough
Wellesley Theatre Project
Admit Fit, Wellesley
image of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click here to read our Natick Report

Natick Report

Events Calendar

« January 2021 » loading...
S M T W T F S
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
Thu 21

Zero Carbon Home webinar

January 21 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Tue 26

Rum tasting and history talk

January 26 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Wed 27

Online history lecture: Petticoat Whalers

January 27 @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Thu 28

January 28 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Most Read Posts

  • Nearly half of Wellesley's available restaurant alcohol licenses are gathering dust
  • Natick issues boil water alert due to E. coli, some Wellesley homes affected
  • Bench at baseball field honors Wellesley's Harry Clark
  • 10 takeaways from the Town of Wellesley's FY20 annual report
  • Pinnacle Residential Properties: the concept of home & roots

Pages

  • Wellesley coronavirus (COVID-19) updates
  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads
  • Wellesley, Mass., fishing spots
  • Please support our advertisers—they support us
  • Embracing diversity in Wellesley
  • Wellesley, MA Police logs
  • Wellesley Choral Society
  • Wellesley College Notable Alumnae
  • Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.
  • Wellesley outdoor art gallery
  • Wellesley restaurants offering take-out and delivery
  • Wellesley, Massachusetts restaurant — Amarin of Thailand

Recent Comments

  • Bob Brown on “I Care a Lot” movie that filmed in Wellesley making Netflix debut
  • Russ Barbour on “I Care a Lot” movie that filmed in Wellesley making Netflix debut
  • Paul Starcevich on Wellesley loses Everett (“Eddie”) Knowles, RDF volunteer, medical miracle
  • Dennis Noonan on Nearly half of Wellesley’s available restaurant alcohol licenses are gathering dust
  • Kim Powell on Bench at baseball field honors Wellesley’s Harry Clark

Links we like

  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Taquitos.net
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (4)
  • Animals (377)
  • Antiques (48)
  • Art (534)
  • Beyond Wellesley (28)
  • Books (343)
  • Business (1,357)
  • Camp (1)
  • Careers/jobs (44)
  • Churches (72)
  • Clubs (207)
  • Construction (280)
  • Dump (113)
  • Education (2,877)
    • Babson College (239)
    • Bates Elementary School (14)
    • Dana Hall School (29)
    • Fiske Elementary School (6)
    • Hardy Elementary School (33)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (34)
    • MassBay (47)
    • Schofield Elementary School (20)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (1)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (9)
    • Upham Elementary School (30)
    • Wellesley College (598)
    • Wellesley High School (883)
    • Wellesley Middle School (195)
  • Embracing diversity (37)
  • Entertainment (722)
  • Environment (664)
  • Fashion (133)
  • Finance (12)
  • Fire (141)
  • Food (327)
  • Fundraising (559)
  • Gardens (136)
  • Government (384)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
  • Health (736)
    • COVID-19 (133)
  • History (358)
  • Holidays (365)
  • Houses (118)
  • Humor (45)
  • Kids (814)
  • Law (3)
  • Letters to the Editor (5)
  • Media (63)
  • METCO (5)
  • Military (3)
  • Morses Pond (96)
  • Music (543)
  • Natick Report (27)
  • Neighbors (243)
  • Obituaries (58)
  • Outdoors (582)
  • Parenting (60)
  • Police (688)
    • Crime (345)
  • Politics (534)
  • Real estate (286)
  • Religion (127)
  • Restaurants (302)
  • Safety (142)
  • Scouts (1)
  • Senior citizens (107)
  • Shopping (121)
  • Sports (897)
  • STEM (104)
  • Technology (154)
  • Theatre (383)
  • Town Meeting (22)
  • Transportation (209)
  • Travel (11)
  • Uncategorized (1,205)
  • Volunteering (317)
  • Weather (161)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (258)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (5)
RSS Feed Icon Subscribe to RSS Feed

© 2021 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login