Babson to the rescue: Survey seeks to get to bottom of Wellesley Square issues

April 6, 2021 by Bob Brown 5 Comments

The town of Wellesley is partnering with Babson College graduate students in an experiential learning program in which students will aim to help the town come up with ideas to revitalize its downtown.

The Select Board and students have crafted a survey for residents that puts things gingerly: “Wellesley is currently experiencing several commercial vacancies in our business districts.” (Our emphasis on several.)

Questions include:

How often do you shop online?
What is your most frequented store in Wellesley?
Which improvements would encourage you to visit Wellesley Square?
Why is it that you’d prefer a Peet’s over a Chase Bank? (OK, that last one is ours.)

The survey also seeks to learn why you go to other communities for your shopping or dining pleasure. It includes multiple choice and open-ended questions, so you’ll have a chance to make a plug for a candy store, pub, or whatever you’d like to see.

The students will be surveying retailers, restaurants, and business property owners to get their perspectives as well.

The research could help guide the town in planning future downtown and business developments. Students may present their findings at an upcoming Select Board meeting if the timing works out.

Questions or comments about the survey (such as, you might want to have a few higher household income choices than “$100,000 or more” given the median income in town…) may be emailed to student coordinator Maxine Fergie at [email protected] or to Wellesley Assistant Executive Director Amy Frigulietti at [email protected]

Wellesley Community Bulletin Board

March 31, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Check out the Community Bulletin Board section on The Swellesley Report, a place to find out about exciting events going on in the area.

Featured this week:

TEDx Babson College

An independently organized TED event
Bridging the Gap: Breaking the Norms
April 10, 2021—Virtual, register on Eventbrite

Wellesley Nursery School in the Hills

PreK & Preschool openings for 2021-2022
[email protected]
781-237-9137

Little Arnie’s Cleaning Service

Old-fashioned, white-glove service
[email protected]
617-420-5579

Wellesley Youth Lacrosse

Newton-Wellesley Orthopedic Walk-in

No appointment necessary
978 Worcester St., Wellesley, MA
617-219-1280

Here’s how to have your business or non-profit’s flyer appear on The Swellesley Report’s Community Bulletin Board at a nominal rate

Wellesley college campuses still closed to visitors for now

March 25, 2021 by Deborah Brown 1 Comment

It’s been over a year since Babson College, Wellesley College, and MassBay have closed their campuses to all but students and employees of the schools due to the pandemic, and there is no sign of the ban being lifted anytime soon. Perhaps thinking back to last March, when cars lined up along routes 16 and 135 and unloaded piles of people who flocked to the Wellesley College campus, a rep contacted us with this message: “We are trying to get the word out to folks that the Wellesley campus is still closed to the public right now due to the pandemic—that includes folks walking to campus and then walking on campus, even outside. We know with the lovely spring weather and the state opening up some regulations that folks are very eager to get out, but this policy hasn’t changed and we are really hoping that folks can respect this for the time being.”

Lake Waban boardwalk, Wellesley, Summer 2016 — Lake Waban boardwalk, 2016. The popular walking path is closed off to those outside the Wellesley College community due to the pandemic.

This Wellesley College closure includes the 2.5 mile walking path around Lake Waban, a very special spot where Wellesley residents are itching to return. The entire lake is surrounded by private property, some owned by Wellesley College, some by the Hunnewell family.

We checked in with Babson and MassBay representatives, who echoed the plan to proceed with a cautious approach. MassBay, which this year is celebrating its 60th anniversary (albeit quietly), is delivering most of its learning online, with very limited academic activities taking place on its Wellesley campus. Babson, too, is waiting to welcome neighbors back to enjoy campus when it is “safe to do so.”

No word yet on when this all might change. Policies are likely to be revisited as vaccination rates rise and the pandemic slows down.

Wellesley sports catch-up: WHS football not letting anyone else score; Mites win Bavis hockey tourney; Babson tennis wants you to watch

March 22, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

We don’t have an official sports reporting staff, so we admittedly cover the topic in a catch-as-catch-can way. But we’ve had a number of things sent our way of late, so here you go:

WHS football not letting anyone else score

The Raiders crushed usual Thanksgiving rival Needham High School 34-0 on Friday for Wellesley’s second straight shutout to start the season. Among the strong performances for the Raiders was Anthony Perez running back an interception 32 yards for a touchdown and also catching a 33-yard touchdown pass on 4th and 28 from quarterback Vincent Ferrara.

Mites win Bavis hockey tourney

The Wellesley rookie mite team coached by Halsey Coughlin won the Mark Bavis Memorial hockey tournament hosted by Hyde Park Youth Hockey over the weekend. Congrats to these first and second graders, who got the finals with an exciting shoot0out victory in the semis.

wellesley mites hockey — Photo courtesy of Rick Bellew

Babson tennis wants you to watch

We received email earlier this month from Babson College senior and varsity tennis player Mary Kille, who was excited to learn that the tennis team will be having a season despite the pandemic. The season was canceled last year. She says the team (which includes Wellesley’s Ashley Avery) would love to connect more with people in town, even though right now the campus is closed to the public.

As a senior on the Babson Women’s Tennis Team, I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to play a competitive season this Spring. With last year’s season canceled, we are incredibly grateful for our college’s efforts to keep everyone safe while granting us the ability to play during these times. In addition to practicing and playing matches with masks on, we also get tested twice a week to ensure we’re all safe and healthy. This year, more so than ever, as we’re living in a rather virtual world, we want to remain connected with our community.

Our team partnered with the Hebrew Senior Life Home of Dedham to participate in virtual sessions to work with some of their patients. In the future, when it’s safe to do so, we hope to participate in ACEing Autism, a volunteer-driven, non-profit organization. We absolutely love the support of our greater community and we hope to provide some stellar tennis matches this spring.

Coming up, our first match is at Babson College on Saturday, April 3 at 10:30 am EST. Be sure to tune into the live-stream, we hope you enjoy it and we thank you in advance for your support! #GoBabo #DefendTheDam

Keep an eye on Babson Athletics social media for streaming info.

babson tennis — Photo by Temi Bajulaiye, Babson Athletics’ Marketing & New Media Specialist

Cuteness alert: Babson College adds working puppy to the Wellesley campus

February 15, 2021 by Deborah Brown 2 Comments

We’ve missed feeling welcome at Babson College since the pandemic has closed the campus to outside visitors, but when we heard the business school had added a puppy to the community, we invited ourselves over. When a five-month old English cream golden retriever gets added to the family, well-wishers will come a-calling.

The pup’s name is Roger, and the Student Government Association, in response to students’ requests, provided the funding to bring him to campus. Now that he’s there, Roger is being raised up to serve as certified community resource dog. It’s hard work that keeps him busy four mornings a week learning important skills such as sit, stay, come, and heel as Roger internalizes his recall training lessons.

Babson College, Wellesley — Meet Roger, Babson College’s new community resource dog.

Babson Police Officer Kevin Carrigan is Roger’s partner in service to the community. The two not only work together, they also clock out together. In his off-hours, Roger enjoys family life with Officer Carrigan and his wife. But what if Carrigan moves on to a job outside of Babson? These things happen. “I’m not leaving,” Carrigan shrugged.

To meet Roger, I didn’t exactly storm the gates of entrepreneurial school. Roger, Carrigan and I rendezvoused outside the Forest Street entrance for our photo-op. The calm pup never once strained at his leash or, when briefly unleashed to show off his skills, even so much as glanced at the busy street as something that maybe he’d run off to explore. Roger is all about the human friends, and he takes his job seriously. Since everyone Roger meets is someone who might need an emotional boost, Roger let me know with eye contact and a wagging tail that he was there for me.

I fell hard for that sweet face. Roger has had that effect on the campus community as well. During his strolls on campus and while attending events, Carrigan says students approach the two all the time just to experience the joy of petting a puppy. Every positive interaction Roger has as a youngster helps him along his career path as a community resource dog. As Roger’s training progresses, he will be used on campus to respond to emotional, mental, and physical health emergencies and serve as a calming influencer. Already he’s brought students to tears.

“I’ve had students cry when they meet him because he makes them think of their dogs at home, or they say that the stress of dealing with school durning COVID is sometimes hard,” Carrigan said.

Although Roger hasn’t yet come across Babson’s mascot, Biz E. Beaver, Roger confided to me that he looks forward to meeting his colleague. He said he’d like to help Biz E out with the anxiety issues that have led to his compulsive gnawing problem. Maybe give Biz E some strategies to take the stress level down a notch.

[Read more…]

Wellesley Business Buzz: Babson might want to study us; Downtown Starbucks temporarily closed; Sisters of Charity partners

January 12, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Our roundup of the latest Wellesley, Mass., business news:

Babson might want to study us

Wellesley is looking to make use of a local resource: Babson College graduate students who might be interested in helping the the town explore business development challenges being faced amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the move to online shopping.

The town applied in September to be a participant in the Spring 2021 semester’s Babson Consulting Program, an experiential learning program in which graduate students seek to come up with innovative solutions for various problems or projects. The town has been accepted into the program, but now it’s a matter of whether there’s enough student interest.

“Our application looks to have the students help the Town with a business development initiative,” says Wellesley Assistant Executive Director Amy Frigulietti. “This initiative will incorporate analysis and planning to help with our vacant commercial storefronts and/or high turnover rates, and also include an aspect of market research for Wellesley’s shopping areas to determine where the need is for various types of business. We hope to have the team use this analysis to understand what types of businesses would be supported/successful in Wellesley, and also help educate town government on what may be preventing or prohibiting some businesses from staying and/or coming to Wellesley.”

Students will be asked to connect with residents, merchants, and landlords, among others. The students will then submit recommendations for the town’s consideration.

Even if the project doesn’t move forward, Wellesley has been doing some research along these lines already and plans to do more.

Downtown Starbucks temporarily closed again

In late November the Starbucks at 68A Central St. in Wellesley Square closed due to COVID-19. It’s closed again, temporarily, though unclear from the sign on the storefront exactly why.

The Linden Square Starbucks is not far at all, and Peet’s down the block is open for now (being replaced by a bank).

Sisters of Charity partners with Legacy Lifecare

Sisters of Charity-Halifax’s Wellesley campus, which includes the Elizabeth Seton Residence skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility and Marillac Residence rest home, has partnered with nonprofit Legacy Lifecare to manage it and provide operational development.

Legacy Lifecare also manages Chelsea Jewish Lifecare of Chelsea and Peabody, JGS Lifecare of Longmeadow, and Deutsches Altenheim in West Roxbury.

Sisters of Charity will continue to focus on its branding, strategic planning, and fundraising, but will rely on Legacy Lifecare for day-to-day support and management services in what’s become an increasingly complex healthcare world.

Thank you Swellesley Report supporters & on to Year Sweet 16

Got tips on business openings, closings or whatever, feel free to email us here: [email protected]

Also email us if you’re interested in sponsoring our weekly Wellesley Business Buzz roundup.

Babson shares ‘A Little Holiday Cheer for a Rough Year’

December 11, 2020 by Bob Brown 1 Comment

We had a rare chance on Thursday night to visit Babson College‘s Wellesley campus, which has been closed to outsiders during the pandemic, for a charming drive-through holiday tour full of bright lights, inflatable decorations, and festive volunteers.

We donated a big bag of rice at the start to include in Babson’s collection for the Wellesley Food Pantry, grabbed some swag that was poked into our car via some sort of socially-distanced rod, and we were on our way up and down College Drive. Our front seat and back seat passengers handled photo duties.

All sorts of celebrities, from a decked out Roger Babson statue to campus mascot Biz E. Beaver to Santa Claus himself, were on hand. A nice big menorah greeted us on the first night of Hanukkah.

Happy holidays to Babson alums, who organized the event, and students who just finished fall semester. We look forward to visiting, walking, and running around the campus again post-COVID.