Plans for eight attached townhomes, including two affordable units, are being aired before the Wellesley Design Review Board later this month for 10 Railroad St.
The three-story development, if approved, would rise at the current parking lot off of Linden Street alongside the railroad tracks near the Wellesley Square train station. This is located behind the Takara restaurant and Goddard School, and just east of the 35-unit Terrazza condo complex across the street.
The 10 Railroad St. property, along with the 151-159 Linden Street commercial property, was sold for $9m by B. Cullen Realty to Dinosaur Linden LLC last summer.
The development at 10 Railroad St. would be the second proposed housing plan in town under the MBTA Communities Law, which Wellesley complied with in 2024 and allows by right development to encourage new housing near public transportation. The first such project proposed is on Laurel Avenue across from the Wellesley Hills train station.
Wellesley is seeing an influx of multi-tenant and other housing developments, both spurred by state actions like the MBTA Communities Law and Affordable Homes Act, and as a result of oodles of office properties changing hands or going on the market. The town also commissioned a strategic housing plan designed to help it strategize for more diverse housing.
The 10 Railroad St. project, to feature varied brick veneer facing Railroad St., is located within the Industrial A Zoning District and the MBTA Overlay District. The applicant intends to file for Site Plan Review, which would meaning going through the Zoning Board of Appeals (it does not need to go through the Planning Board as part of the MBTA Communities process).
According to the applicant, each three-bedroom unit will have its own outdoor space surrounded by an 6-foot fence, to create separation from the railroad tracks. Units will have their own garages in the basement (room for two vehicles in market rate units, one vehicle in affordable ones). The development will be fully electric, and include support for possible solar panels. Units boast about 3,800 sq. ft. of space; the affordable units lack a third floor deck found in the other units.
Pricing has not been revealed.
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Where can I find the public records? Are they available online?
If you’re looking for records of the certificates, mortgages, or deeds associated with the company, I would try the Norfolk Registry of Deeds website: https://www.norfolkresearch.org/ALIS/WW400R.HTM?WSIQTP=SY00.
Hopefully this new development includes the already approved pedestrian & bicycle underpass that would connect Wellesley Square via the town hall to the Everett street extension and Linden Square. This underpass has been planned since 1885 and revisited in the 1940’s (but put on hold due to WWII). Here is link to history of this underpass: https://wellesleyhistory.wordpress.com/townsman-articles/railroad-underpass-proposal/
Linking Wellesley square to Linden Square via pedestrian & bicycle only access has always been a goal of the town (since 1885). Now it can be a reality if included as a requirement for this developer.
I support the construction of this underpass, but I don’t think the development of eight townhomes, two of which are income-restricted, could pay for it in its entirety.
How many parking spaces are needed for 151-159?
Not sure on requirements (don’t believe there are any under MBTA Communities zoning but others might know more on this…of course, there’s a big difference between being alongside a commuter rail station and a subway station in that it’d be pretty tough for most to solely rely on the commuter rail for transportation). The developer’s plans indicate 14 garage spaces for tenants and 17 surface spaces
Thanks Bob. The original question was how many parking spaces are needed for the building at 151-159 Linden? Is 10 Railroad street integral to the number of parking spaces needed for the 151-159 footprint?
Sorry, not sure. I think parking for that building is largely street parking & in the linden sq lot, though maybe some dedicated parking in the back
Municipalities have Zoning Bylaws that require a determined number of off-street parking spaces which meet both zoning district and building footprint requirements.
Who or what purchased this property at 151-159 Linden Street along with 10 RailRoad Street? I am not asking who manages the property. The title belongs to ?
According to the state’s GIS database, these two properties were purchased by Dinosaur Linden LLC for $9 million on June 26, 2025: https://massgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/sidebar/index.html?appid=3108befad2974590a8f40016de73ae31.
Dinosaur Linden is likely affiliated with Dinosaur Capital Partners, a Newton-based developer: https://www.dinosaurcap.com/.
Thank you very much Andrew
I am interested in this, too.
This is a fantastic location for housing development. Kudos to the applicant. I look forward to following this project.
Also, I’d argue that townhomes are generally better described as attached single-family homes, rather than “multi-tenant housing.” Are these townhomes rentals?
Good point on multi-tenant, we’ve revised wording. thanks, BB
We’ve some good news and some bad news. The good news is; we found you affordable housing and the bad news is; it’s a stone’s throw away from the train tracks and you might want to secure your valuables so they don’t fall off their shelves from the shaking caused by the trains.
Plenty of people already live within a few dozen feet of this train line. I’m sure the affordable units will have many applicants. For two lucky families, it’s an opportunity to live in Wellesley that they may not otherwise have gotten.
I lived on Linden Street as a child and I held my inexpensive sets of glass animals on shelving as the trains went by. The truth is funny. 10 Railroad street is EXTREMELY close to my heart and close to the railroad tracks. Whoo Whoo those tenents will need to be All Aboard.
Thanks for sharing, Kim. I very much hope the children at 10 Railroad learn to embrace the train’s proximity, then.
Good place .