An architect's rendering offers a view of the Wayland Town Center development project, on track for completion next year.
(ARROWSTREET INC.)
WAYLAND
A plan to bring new businesses, condos, apartments, and a town green to a revitalized, New England-style downtown in Wayland has cleared a major hurdle with the Planning Board approving a zoning permit needed for the redevelopment.
The 4-to-1 vote last week came after nearly three years of deliberations involving residents, town officials, and developers over the future of Wayland's center.
Twenty Wayland LLC, the developer, must still gain approvals from the town's Board of Selectmen and Conservation Commission, as well as state environmental and transportation authorities. But the company is hoping to begin construction on the $140 million project by August and open its project sometime next year.
"We're all looking forward to it proceeding," said Fred Turkington, Wayland's town administrator. "This is going to diversify our commercial tax base, provide destination shopping within Wayland for residents who now commute out of town for things, serve as a gathering point for the community, and enhance the sense of community in town."
Under the zoning permit approved by the Planning Board, Twenty Wayland must meet a number of conditions, including a requirement that its buildings be constructed in a "New England style," consistent with drawings the developer has already shown the town. Selectmen and the town's Board of Road Commissioners will be holding hearings to look at the impact the project would have on traffic in town.
"I think the traffic issue is going to be the focal point with the state," said Charles Irving, a partner with Twenty Wayland. The intersection of routes 20 and 27 "has been a problem for many years," he noted. The developer and the town have worked with consultants and will look to widen roads and optimize traffic signals to deal with the increased vehicle load.
Planning Board member Lynne Dunbrack voted against the permit. "For me it came down to the safety issues of the increased traffic," she said. "There will be lots more traffic on a narrow neighborhood road. We have to look at the master special permit decision, and part of it is weighing the adverse impacts against the benefits."
The Wayland Town Center proposal came up in spring 2005, when the Congress Group Inc. of Boston proposed the mixed business and residential development as a way to transform the abandoned
The Congress Group and KGI Properties Inc., also of Boston, teamed to form Twenty Wayland.
The company's design calls for 165,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, and office space, 40,000 square feet for municipal use, and a 2-acre town green. There will also be 85 to 95 condominiums, including 25 units that would be sold at below-market prices, and 10 or 12 apartments above storefronts. The retail shops and restaurants would be locally focused, as would salons, banks, and small stores that cater to residents' needs.
At a 2006 Town Meeting, 80 percent of voters supported the rezoning necessary for the project, Turkington said. "A number of our neighboring towns have historic town centers, but there is no defined community center for Wayland," he said. "This will provide that."
The master special permit was seen a vital part of the process. Without the permit and approval from the Planning Board, a building project like this could be irreparably stalled, said officials.
There is a 21-day period, starting from the approval last Thursday, during which an appeal can be filed. Dunbrack said she is not planning to appeal the decision but it is unclear whether anyone else will.
Town officials say they are doing their best to make sure all voices are heard as the town center is developed.
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