Proposed Boston Properties development agreement amendment tied to 3A plan

Voters at the Oct. 15 Special Town Meeting will be asked to amend a development agreement for 133 Boston Post Road to unlock development opportunities aligned with Weston’s proposed MBTA Communities zoning plan.

The proposed development amendment would allow Boston Properties BXP to pursue the creation of a multifamily, multigenerational neighborhood in three phases at the current 133 Boston Post Road office lot.

Select Board Chair Lise Revers said the development agreement amendments, which go hand-in-hand with the zoning proposal, will generate housing for the town without compromising Weston’s character or causing a negative impact on abutters by regulating building height and restricting buildings to specific locations.

“The range of housing choices and the distribution of these housing units across the entire BXP property will create a village-like setting with pathways and water features connecting the buildings,” Revers said. “In addition, the pathways will connect to the abutting conservation land and rail trail, which will link the property in a natural way with the abutting land features.”

Additionally, the development agreement restricts Boston Properties’ ability to develop any buildings on the site that are not related to housing. Under the proposed terms, Boston Properties can only construct a maximum of three main office buildings up to a combined total area of 350,000 square feet. A building occupying 350,000 square feet is already on the site.

“They have built out, commercially, everything they could possibly do under the original development agreement, and the new development agreement is only allowing them to build out under 3A,” Revers said at the Sept. 26 MBTA 3A Working Group meeting.

Weston’s zoning plan proposes breaking down the nearly 74-acre parcel into three zones. In total, the proposed amendment would allow Boston Properties to develop up to 100 townhomes in Zone A1, the northeast corner of the site; 280 multifamily units in Zone A2, the existing parking structure between two ponds and adjacent to MBTA tracks, and 100 age-restricted units in Zone A3, currently the site of the 350,000-square-foot office building.

All multifamily developments proposed in MBTA Communities districts are required to make 15% of the total units affordable. The development agreement amendment adds that if the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities determines that the 15% affordability requirement is not feasible, then “Ten percent of units constructed, or such greater percentage as approved by EOHLC in writing, shall be affordable housing units.”

Zone-specific requirements

The amended agreement proposes specific dimension and use requirements in each zone at 133 Boston Post Road.

Zone 1A limits townhomes with pitched roofs to 40 feet and flat-roofed buildings at 35 feet. No building in the zone shall be more than three stories in height and parking is restricted to two spaces per unit.

“The townhomes with the lower heights have been purposely sited near the northern end of the property because these will be the most visible from neighboring properties,” Revers said. “With the lower building height and the distributed nature of the townhomes, this will minimize the impact on abutting neighbors and the rail trail.”

Buildings in Zone A2 below a height line drawn on the plan shall be no taller than 65 feet and parking is limited to 1.25 spaces per dwelling unit. Additional parking spaces will be available in the existing office lot.

Finally, Zone A3, the final phase of the development, would limit the 100 senior housing units to 45 feet in height with 1.5 parking spaces per dwelling unit. The construction of these age-restricted units is contingent on the removal of the existing office building. Revers noted these units will “only be visible from Route 20.”

Additionally, all three zones propose 25-foot and 14-foot height limits for any detached accessory buildings with pitched or flat roofs, respectively.

The amendment also allows several residential amenities, including a community room, swimming pool, athletic courts and coworking spaces, but restricts them to “5,000 gross cumulative square feet.” Child care facilities for the development’s residents are also allowed, but are capped at 50 day care slots. Any open day care slots shall be made available “on a preferential basis to the children of residents and employees of the town of Weston,” according to the agreement.

In all, the multigenerational neighborhood proposal would create up to 480 housing units for Weston if every phase is completed. The MBTA Communities Act requires Weston to zone for at least 750 multifamily units, with at least 40% of those located within a half-mile of the Kendal Green Commuter Rail station.

While only a portion of 133 Boston Post Road — the northwestern end of the parcel — is currently within a half mile of the Kendal Green station, Weston received state approval to develop its plan based on the potential new location of the station, near the Mass Central Rail Trail bridge over the MBTA tracks. That new location’s half-mile radius would encompass nearly the entirety of the 74-acre parcel.

The development agreement amendments, as well as Weston’s MBTA Communities zoning plan, will come before voters at Special Town Meeting on Oct. 15.