Applications are now available for six affordable units set aside out of a new 24-unit condo complex, dubbed “The Albion,” at 16 Stearns Road in Wellesley. The deadline to apply is September 5. A Zoom information session is planned for July 30. Get all the application information here.

Five affordable two-bedroom units are priced at $306,800, with a condo fee of $140.06/month.

One affordable three-bedroom unit is priced at $341,000, with a condo fee of $155.67/month.

The Albion’s website says its two-bedroom condos, starting at $1M, offer “beautifully crafted luxury luxury living.” Currently, a two-bedroom, three-bath, 1,788 sq. ft. market-priced unit is listed for $1,748,800, MLS #73398447.

In the works since 2017, the project is located at the dead-end of Stearns Road, a short pedestrian cut-through from the Sprague Elementary School. The multi-family housing design went through over the strenuous objections of neighbors, who tried in vain to preserve the tucked-away feel of the street, directly off of the busy route 9 eastbound side.

How to house

As Wellesley grapples with its high cost of housing and lack of options for young families, local employees, downsizers, and more, the town hired Barrett Planning Group to assist with putting together a Strategic Housing Plan, now available in a draft version. In 2024, Community Engagement Forums were held, and a survey (answered by 1,500) to assess attitudes about housing in Wellesley and potential housing-related strategies was made available.

Barrett presented a plan in June that includes six goals and 48 strategies. As a starting point before you dive into the full report, we boiled those down here.

A public comment period on the Strategic Producation Plan draft just closed last week.

Wellesley currently has met the state’s affordable housing stock threshold of at least 10% of inventory, giving the town some space to plan what new housing and/or zoning changes in Wellesley should look like.