The latest Wellesley, Mass., business news:
Asaro design plans shared
Asaro Bakery & Cafe, whose window signs on Church Square have been teasing the town since February about its impending arrival, does have design plans making the rounds.
We checked them out at the Wellesley Health Department recently, and word is that the cost of installing a pricey grease trap is one big challenge.
That didn’t stop Matz Collaborative Architects from posting renderings on its website and social media of what the eatery could look like, including outdoor seating along the side and rear of the building. Matz dared to hashtag its Instagram post #comingsoon, but when asked about “how soon is soon?”, it predictably deferred to the elusive Asaro.
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Town sticks with single tax rate
Wellesley will stay with its single property tax rate for residents and businesses, per a Select Board vote earlier this month.
The annual tax classification public hearing and vote, which you can relive by viewing the Wellesley Media recording about 3 minutes in, took place on Dec. 6. The new chief assessor, Ellen Muller, made her debut at these meetings as well.
To no one’s surprise the assessed value of residential and commercial property continues to climb, with those values up 9% and 11% respectively for fiscal 2023.
The median assessed value of single-family residences: $1.36M! Close to 80% of the town’s overall property values are single family residential homes .
Once the Assessor’s Office and Board of Assessors crunched the numbers, the tax rate turned out to be $11.45 per $1,000 in property value. That’s down from $11.68 last year, though due to ballooning property assessments the median tax bill rises by more than $1,200 to $15,538.
Shifting more of the tax burden to commercial property owners to the largest extent allowed would boost the median tax bill for them by about $16K a year, while reducing the median residential bill by about $1,100. “It’s really a very punitive effect on the commercial rates,” Select Board member Colette Aufranc said during discussion, adding that it’s very difficult to undo such a change.
Select Board member Beth Sullivan Woods emphasized that much of Wellesley’s commercial tax base comes from small businesses, and pointed out that landlords have been “heavily investing” in property improvements over the past year-plus. “Keeping the single tax rate is another element in ensuring the success and the rebound of our business community,” she said.
More: Natick stays with single tax rate for residents, businesses
