Developer proposes 200 affordable units at Whole Foods site in Wayland
Photo | Wayland Select Board meeting
Townhouses and a flat apartment building are proposed on the site of a former Whole Foods supermarket in Wayland.
A developer has proposed a 200-unit 40B housing project at the site of a former Whole Foods Market grocery store in Wayland.
Wayland’s Select Board heard the proposal Monday night from Mill Creek Residential, a Florida-based multi-family developer with offices in Boston. Mill Creek is the third largest developer in the country with operations in 16 markets across the nation, with Massachusetts developments in Framingham, Hopkinton, and Natick.
Senior Managing Director Doug Arsham spoke about the 200-unit proposal, which would be a Local Initiative Project, meaning the developer would work with the municipality to gain project eligibility from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, rather than working solely with the state. As a LIP, at least 25% of the project must be affordable.
While Arsham said the team has not yet decided on the number of bedrooms for each unit, at least 10% of the units will be three-bedroom, as is required by 40B regulations. The project would include a row of townhouses and a flat building with apartments.
Mill Creek would construct a small road connecting the two roads on either side of the site. The development is proposed for a 3.5-acre lot between Boston Post Road and Pelham Island Road in Wayland. There is a shipping business and a dry cleaner located on the proposed development site. A Whole Foods supermarket previously operated on part of the site at 297 Boston Post Road, but that space is now covered in black top and empty.
The Fresh Market, a North Carolina-based supermarket chain, has a long-term lease at the site and is continuing to pay without using the site, Arsham said in his presentation Monday night.
“That’s why we think this is one of the opportune sites for housing: that it’s a failed retail site,” he said.
Another housing project is underway less than a mile down Boston Post Road, which will include 218 units. In 2020, Wayland received a $2.2-million infrastructure grant from the state for improvements along the road to make way for the housing project.
Select Board Chair Member Cherry Karlson said Wayland is nearing its goal to have 10% of its housing be affordable, thanks to three projects approved over the last couple of years.
The board decided to consider the project and revisit it at a later date.
“Our board might want to digest it for a bit and then bring it up at another meeting soon so that we have a more full discussion on the idea,” said Board Chair Tom Fay.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story stated that Whole Foods has a lease for the property at 297 Boston Post Road. While there was previously a Whole Foods at the site, the lease is actually held by The Fresh Market grocery store chain.
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