Welcome back from summer vacation! An update on Weston’s projects

With students back in school and traffic picking up around town, it is shaping up to be a busy season in Weston, as several large projects are slated to come before residents at the Nov. 23 Special Town Meeting.

As residents return to town from summer vacations, here are where a variety of projects in town stand heading into the fall.

The Woods at the Josiah Smith Tavern

The Select Board issued an ultimatum in June demanding answers to several long-standing questions about the planned The Woods restaurant at the Josiah Smith Tavern.

The ultimatum, which had a July 6 deadline, required The Woods and the Friends of the Josiah Smith Tavern to submit completed construction documents, proof of financial security, cost estimates, a business plan, memorandum detailing all permit approvals needed for the project and a timeline for amending the historic deed restriction.

Brian Piccini, the restaurateur and Weston resident behind The Woods, and his team submitted those documents ahead of the deadline, and on July 14, he delivered an update to the Select Board, which board members said was satisfactory.

Work on bringing the long-awaited restaurant is continuing, and Piccini’s updated project timeline is aiming for a March 2027 opening.

Route 30

A reshuffling of the Traffic and Sidewalk Committee, as well as a high volume of public input in recent months, has the town tapping its brakes on the Route 30 reconstruction project.

Following the appointment of three new members over the spring and summer, the Traffic and Sidewalk Committee has extended the public comment period on the 75% draft design to the end of September to allow more community input while members familiarize themselves with the $18.5 million state-funded project.

The project, for which residents have approved design funding at town meetings in 2018 and 2024, has proven to be controversial, as numerous residents at public listening sessions in May expressed concern over safety, maintenance costs, the environment and new state requirements for a 10-foot shared-used path.

All public comments should include a name and address, and can be submitted to [email protected].

School building project

While the School Building Committee took the summer off, it got right back to business at its Aug. 27 meeting, reviewing its maintenance and capital planning information, developing its community outreach plan and a first review of draft warrant language for a feasibility study, which will be put before voters at the November Special Town Meeting.

To remain in the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s project pipeline, Weston must secure funding for a feasibility study by Dec. 28.

School Building Committee Chair Ken Newberg previously said initial cost estimates for the feasibility study hover around $3 million. If residents approve funding, Weston will move through module four of the MSBA’s building project process. The MSBA will reimburse a minimum of 31% of all eligible project costs.

HYM housing proposal

HYM, the developer seeking to develop 30 acres of land into housing for older adults at Regis College, continued to work with the Planning Board over the summer to create a plan for voters’ consideration in November.

The company is proposing to build two connected three-story buildings for independent living and memory care as well as separate town homes for over-55 housing, for a total of 215 units on the site. In the most recent development, HYM is proposing two options for Weston to consider: either reserving 10% of the units as on-site affordable housing or accept a payment of $300,000 per unit to be used for off-site affordable housing where the town chooses.

The first option would create about 18 affordable units, while the second option, equivalent to 15% of units, would be for 27 units valued at about $8.1 million.

A site walk is set for Sept. 11 and a Planning Board meeting focused on the project is scheduled for Sept. 16 at 6 p.m.

Route 20

Although there is no set date for the reconstruction of the intersection of Boston Post Road, Route 20 and Wellesley Street, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) said work is expected to begin soon.

MassDOT previously stated the project would commence sometime in the late summer or early fall. The reconstruction will transform the five-legged intersection into the more common – and safer – four-way intersection with a traffic light. The divided lanes meeting Route 20 will be merged into a typical intersection shape, with turning lanes created. Windsor Way, a private road, will move south on Wellesley Street to remove its connection to Route 20. Sidewalks and stormwater infrastructure will also be installed.

The intersection is Weston’s most crash-prone, with more than 80 accidents occurring there in the last five years, according to the Weston Police Department.

Fire station and water tanks

While quiet over the summer, both the fire station project, for which design funds were approved at the May Annual Town Meeting, and the replacement of the town’s water tanks are progressing through their design stages.

For the fire station project, Weston is pursuing the creation of a station on Field 13 adjacent to Wellesley Street at Weston Middle School, with plans to renovate the current headquarters on Boston Post Road. The town is sticking with Tecton Architects and owner’s project manager Vertex, both of which worked with the Fire Station Working Group through the feasibility study process.

Design development documents are expected this month, and 60% construction documents are expected by the end of the year, according to minutes from the May 12 Select Board meeting.

The water tank replacement project is also progressing, with design close to completion, according to Town Manager Leon Gaumond, who noted the Legislature and state have signed off on a land swap for the project.

40B housing projects

While not town-directed projects, there has been some movement on several housing projects in town.

Modera Weston, the 172-unit housing complex at 751 Boston Post Road, is offering both an affordable housing lottery and preleasing for one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and townhomes. The complex is still under construction, with an estimated completion date of September 2027.

The other two major 40B projects are in the courtroom.

In June, a Middlesex Superior Court judge affirmed the Massachusetts Housing Appeals Committee’s decision to permit the so-called “Weston Whopper,” a proposed four-story, 180-apartment complex at 518 South Ave. The case is now heading to the state Appeals Court, as the Select Board – and abutters – opted to appeal the case in July.

Also in the Appeals Court is 104 Boston Post Road, a 150-unit complex that the Zoning Board of Appeals denied in 2017. Both Weston and Cambridge, which claims the development would harm its water supply, have appealed the Massachusetts Housing Appeals Committee’s decision to permit the project. Oral arguments in the case were held on May 6 and are now under advisement.