• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

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

  • Advertise
  • Wellesley Square
  • Deland, Gibson Insurance Athlete of the Week
  • Camp
  • Private schools, sponsored by Riverbend
  • Business index
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Schools
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Kids
  • About us
  • Events
  • Natick Report
  • Seniors
  • Letters to the editor
  • Guidelines for letters to the editor
  • Live government meetings
  • Raiders sports schedules & results
  • Fire & police scanner
  • 2023 Town Election
 
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Wellesley aqueduct bathroom open for business

September 15, 2022 by Bob Brown 6 Comments

You no longer have to “hold it” while at the Hunnewell Field complex, as Wellesley has opened its new bathroom facility along the Cochituate Aqueduct.

aqueduct bathrooms

The building stands 26′ x 30′ and features a 3-stall women’s restroom and 2-stall, 1 urinal men’s restroom on the west side, plus 2 accessible, 1-stall universal rooms on the east side. It will be open 6:30am-9:30pm from March-November.

The bathroom was a long time coming, with a 2003-2004 plan identifying the need to replace the 1950s facility to, among other things, make it accessible.

Wellesley Natural Resources Commission Director Brandon Schmitt shared a timeline of more recent years that included a Town Meeting request rejected in 2016. At the 2017 Annual Town Meeting, the Department of Public Works requested $300,000, to be borrowed inside the levy, to replace the existing facility. Town Meeting approved $180,000, of which $30,000 was used by DPW to get municipal water and a sewer line to the site; that left $150,000 to offset the cost of the request. The previous bathroom facility went out of commission in 2017.

At the 2018 Town Meeting, $525,000 was approved for team rooms and bathrooms at the track and field facility. The hope was that an Aqueduct Bathroom Project would be able to use the same construction methods and material as the track and field team rooms/bathrooms facility in the future. However, bids for the team rooms/bathroom project came in twice as high as anticipated, thereby stalling that project as well as the aqueduct bathroom project.

In October 2018, the DPW piloted a portable trailer bathroom facility, although this was not deemed a permanent solution. In addition, the NRC did not consider this an adequate approach for many reasons including appearance, susceptibility to vandalism, serviceability, and storage capacity.

Finally, the new bathroom facility was installed entirely by the Community Preservation Committee, and the final cost was around $350,000. The pre-cast modular building was delivered this summer to Hunnewell Field in three separate sections, lifted into position on a prepared concrete foundation and connected together.

Organizations involved in getting this job done included the DPW, NRC, CPC, Town Meeting, Design Review Board, Building Department, and others.

https://www.facebook.com/SwellesleyReport/videos/1178890419649554

aqueduct bathroom at hunnewell field complex
Photo of aqueduct bathroom taken in late August as the DPW put some final touches on the area

  • Subscribe to Swellesley’s daily email
  • Please support our independent journalism venture
print

Filed Under: Outdoors

Comments

  1. Tom Stagliano says

    September 15, 2022 at 8:04 pm

    What will be the operational hours of the new facility?
    Will it be 24×7 or will it only be open from sunrise to sunset (or lights off at the football stadium)?
    And who will open/close the rest rooms and who will clean the rest rooms?
    Will there be periodic security checks?
    Will cameras view the outside of the building from a distance and send the signals to the Wellesley Police Station?
    Will there be a call-button to push in case of an emergency?
    There is a Lot that the town needs to know about this facility.

    Reply
    • Bob Brown says

      September 19, 2022 at 11:37 am

      Hi Tom, we cite the hours in the article, no 24×7. The town’s facilities and public works teams clean and stock the restrooms.

      There are no plans to surveil the property or install video cameras or emergency buttons at this time. Additional modifications could be considered for the future, per the Natural Resources Commission.

      Reply
  2. Nancy says

    September 15, 2022 at 9:22 pm

    Currently, the bathrooms required a code be pressed to unlock the door.
    Is the code no longer needed between the hours of operation?
    If a code is still required will Wellesley residents have the code?

    Reply
    • Bob Brown says

      September 17, 2022 at 4:42 pm

      We opened the bathroom doors without using any codes this week.

      Reply
  3. M says

    September 17, 2022 at 8:23 am

    Correction: “The previous bathroom facility went out of commission in 2015”

    Reply
    • Bob Brown says

      September 17, 2022 at 4:41 pm

      2017 according to the 2020 Town Meeting presentation, but I’m sure your memory about this is better than ours. thanks, Bob

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Linden Square, Wellesley
Riverbend, Natick

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

 

Advertisements

Wellesley Square, Wellesley Merchants
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Beacon Hill Athletic Club, Wellesley
Fay School, Southborough
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Wellesley Theatre Project
Volvo
Cheesy Street Grill
Mature Caregivers
Admit Fit, Wellesley
  • 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 on Entering Natick sign to read our Natick Report

Entering Natick road sign

Most Read Posts

  • Letters-to-the-editor day in Wellesley—important election-time updates
  • Wellesley business buzz: Board business liaison phased out; Help ID top business leaders of color; Hospital taps new president
  • Wellesley Cotillion makes a strong comeback
  • Business buzz: Nantucket wine bar to boast Wasik's cheeses; Needham Bank has new Wellesley branch manager; Thanks to new sponsor Beacon Hill Athletic Clubs
  • Wellesley Veterans Parade will be one big wonderful Tea Party

Upcoming Events

Jan 31
9:00 am - 11:00 am Recurring

Coffee and Conversation with the Wetlands Administrator and Staff

Jan 31
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Families Eat Together online presentation

Feb 1
11:59 pm

Deadline for Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club grants application

Feb 3
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Sara Campbell winter warehouse sale

Feb 4
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Sara Campbell winter warehouse sale

View Calendar

Popular pages

  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads

Recent Comments

  • David B on Does Wellesley need a new traffic light? Slow down before you drive to any conclusions
  • LADY WELLESLEY on Wellesley police officer injured in crash at intersection of Grove and Benvenue
  • Peggy Heffernan on Wellesley police officer injured in crash at intersection of Grove and Benvenue
  • Beth Dublin on Wellesley police officer injured in crash at intersection of Grove and Benvenue
  • Erika on Where to buy the Wellesleyest stuff in Wellesley

Links we like

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

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (24)
  • 2023 Town Election (2)
  • Animals (428)
  • Antiques (49)
  • Art (592)
  • Beyond Wellesley (52)
  • Books (376)
  • Business (1,556)
  • Camp (10)
  • Careers/jobs (53)
  • Churches (82)
  • Clubs (236)
  • Construction (300)
  • Dump (130)
  • Education (3,189)
    • Babson College (252)
    • Bates Elementary School (18)
    • Dana Hall School (36)
    • Fiske Elementary School (11)
    • Hardy Elementary School (47)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (46)
    • MassBay (57)
    • Schofield Elementary School (26)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (2)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (11)
    • Upham Elementary School (35)
    • Wellesley College (613)
    • Wellesley High School (996)
    • Wellesley Middle School (204)
  • Embracing diversity (84)
  • Entertainment (814)
  • Environment (772)
  • Fashion (144)
  • Finance (15)
  • Fire (173)
  • Food (358)
  • Fundraising (641)
  • Gardens (164)
  • Government (604)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
    • 2022 Town Election (15)
  • Health (866)
    • COVID-19 (203)
  • Hikes (6)
  • History (399)
  • Holidays (440)
  • Houses (162)
  • Humor (47)
  • Kids (867)
  • Law (8)
  • Legal notices (10)
  • Letters to the Editor (71)
  • Media (72)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (13)
  • Morses Pond (109)
  • Music (579)
  • Natick Report (30)
  • Neighbors (280)
  • Obituaries & remembrances (86)
  • Outdoors (655)
  • Parenting (63)
  • Police (778)
    • Crime (395)
  • Politics (554)
  • POPS Senior Profile (10)
  • RDF (6)
  • Real estate (344)
  • Religion (138)
  • Restaurants (340)
  • Safety (155)
  • Scouts (2)
  • Seniors (127)
  • Shopping (163)
  • Sponsored (6)
  • Sports (1,012)
    • Athlete of the Week (12)
  • STEM (108)
  • Technology (165)
  • Theatre (397)
  • Town Meeting (23)
  • Transportation (240)
  • Travel (17)
  • Uncategorized (1,244)
  • Volunteering (350)
  • Weather (179)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (280)
  • Wellesley Holiday Gift Guide (2)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (20)

© 2023 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login