The one-time multi-tenant office building at 16 Laurel Ave. in Wellesley Hills has been cordoned off with fencing, ready for its planned transition into a 28-unit condo complex within one of the town’s MBTA Communities Law zones.
This four-story project would be the first new development in town to take advantage of the state law designed to encourage more housing near public transportation, in this case the Wellesley Hills commuter rail station. Wellesley complied with that law in 2024. Laurel Avenue is on the opposite site of Washington Street from the commuter rail station, near Le Petit Four Bakery.
A three-story high-end condo development at 592 Washington St. next to The Belclare condo complex could have qualified for MBTA Communities zoning relief but the developer chose to go a different route—via the Project of Significant Impact process—to a gain greater project density of 19 units.
Whether the Laurel Avenue project (shown as “The Laurel” in one rendering submitted to the town by the applicant) produces true “missing middle housing” envisioned by MBTA Community architects remains to be seen, once prices are revealed. But some housing advocates argue that pretty much any increase in supply will help with efforts to address the area housing shortage, with the possibility of projects like this freeing up single-family homes for young families.
The 16 Laurel Ave. proposal is slated to go before the Wellesley Zoning Board of Appeals for a public hearing for site plan approval starting on April 16. The approvals process may naturally be less visible to the public than other recent multi-family housing proposals in that the project will go through a less involved permitting process.
Documents for the project have been submitted to the town by Jeff Birnbaum (Babson House, LLC, Pioneer Construction). These include the construction plan (work from 7am-5pm weekdays, 8am-4pm Saturdays), trip generation analysis, stormwater report, and more.
Wellesley Executive Director Meghan Jop says, “They have been evaluating this site for some time to convert to residential units. It is a good location and I think the developers have a thoughtful design. There will be a number of considerations to review during site plan.”
In a follow-up interview in late March with Birnbaum, he said six of the 28 units will be affordable (as defined by a state formula). The property was acquired from Jumbo Capital, which earlier had bought it from Haynes.
The hope by the developer is to start digging on the project over the summer, and the estimate is that it would take 18 months to complete.
According to a real estate listing, the structure at 16 Laurel Ave. was constructed in the early 1900s by Roger Babson, founder of Babson College, and renovated in 2001. Birnbaum says the original building’s exterior will remain, with some upgrades to meet sustainability requirements, etc.
Some are tracking MBTA Communities projects, so 16 Laurel Ave. may soon get added to the map.
(Article updated on 3/31/26.)
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