With town approval in hand, future construction can take shape

With Town Meeting approval in hand for their projects, Boston Properties BXP and the Friends of the Weston Depot are now getting down to business.

Residents at Special Town Meeting last week approved Weston’s MBTA 3A Communities Act zoning plan, by a vote of 387-86 as well as the proposed amendment to the development plan with Boston Properties to allow phased residential development of the property at 133 Boston Post Road. Additionally voters approved the transfer of $18,750 of unexpended previously appropriated funds to finish the study of the 144-year-old Weston Depot.

The approval of the 3A plan and the amendment to the development agreement between the town and Boston Properties allows for future construction of housing at 133 Boston Post Road. The company said it is not yet ready to discuss its larger project plan, but it is looking forward to bringing the site to life.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to continue our partnership with the town of Weston and deliver on their vision for the Weston quarry village that addresses the area’s housing needs and public benefits,” said Keir Evans, vice president of development for BXP, in a statement this week.

Boston Properties now has the opportunity to develop up to 480 housing units at 133 Boston Post Road, if every phase of development is completed. The proposed phases are as follows: 100 townhomes in the northeast corner of the site, 280 multifamily units at the existing parking structure and 100 age-restricted units at the site of the 350,000-square-foot office building.

This development, however, is not unrestricted, as both the bylaw and amended agreement place restrictions on what can be developed at the site. The proposed development phases are capped at those numbers, as the approved law contains a “floor area ratio” dictating what can be built.

Planning Board Chair Leslie Glynn said in an interview a key aspect of the plan was getting state approval to use the potential new location of the Kendal Green station, rather than the current one, which would have only allowed use of the northernmost area of 133 Boston Post Road.

“That really has helped quite a bit to put the housing [on Boston Post Road] in a way that makes sense for Weston. That was a real door-opener,” Glynn said. “It basically does what the state wants. They want clusters of housing around transportation, which is important because we want to cut down on traffic, and it’s bringing the diversity we need to Weston.”

The extra year of work helped, as Glynn said it allowed everyone to gain more experience and put together the best possible plan for Weston. She credited fellow Planning Board member Al Aydelott for bringing the Kendal Green location question back to the state, as Weston previously did not have approval to use the proposed new location.

“We had another year under our belts and we were able to stand back and say what was working … Sometimes if you stir the pot long enough, it turns into a good soup,” she said. “Hopefully this is going to be a very good thing for the town.”

Glynn also noted Boston Properties offered to make the third phase of development age-restricted housing, which is not something the town could enforce through the MBTA Communities Act.

Weston Depot

For the Weston Depot, Alicia Primer, president of the Friends of the Weston Depot, said the plan is to hit the ground running. With the money in hand, she said they can complete structural engineering of the building and test the soil before the ground freezes.

The group is also in talks with the MBTA, which owns the land around the building.

“The next step is to negotiate the lease with the MBTA. We want to finalize that, and then the owner is going to transfer ownership to us,” Primer said. “Once we get all of our reports back, we have to come to the table and figure out what we can do there.”

Primer said the group will begin a fundraising campaign after the holidays, as well as begin a visioning process to see what residents want from the building.

Other articles approved at Town Meeting include:

• Article 1 authorized a $483,695 budget adjustment to allow the town to get a jump on projects earlier than the next fiscal year, according to Town Manager Leon Gaumond.
• Article 2 corrected an article approved at the May 2025 Annual Town Meeting that revised the source of funds for the Recreation Department Enterprise Fund. That budget will not change.
• Article 3 appropriated $75,000 of Community Preservation Act money for Weston’s Housing Production Plan. Weston’s current plan is set to expire in September 2026 and the funds would be used for consulting services to update the plan.
• Article 4 corrected an administrative error in the May 2025 Annual Town Meeting warrant to fix the definition of a term in the town’s wetlands and floodplain protection bylaws.
• Article 7 closed a loophole in the town’s earth removal bylaw by expanding the definition of “earth” to include ledge, removing exemptions for “unsuitable materials” and changing exemptions for foundation excavation to only include the foundation and clearance needed for construction.