Before Wellesley Square Gets Redesigned, the Town Wants to Know How You Cross It

Wellesley is drawing up a new layout for Wellesley Square. So far, the public input behind that plan comes from a small group. A little over 30 attended the first public forum at Hunnewell Elementary on October 14, and by mid-October the online survey had drawn just over 100 responses, according to The Swellesley Report. The survey closes November 29. The second public meeting is Thursday, December 10.

Between now and the meeting, the Square has a new chocolatier's first Thanksgiving, a seasonal pop-up and the Holiday Stroll. These events bring people across the corners the town plans to redraw during the same weeks the survey and the second meeting take input.

The two corners the plan centers on

The project area covers Central and Washington Streets from Weston Road to Wellesley Avenue and Route 135. It also takes in parts of Weston Road and Crest Road out to the railroad bridges, Grove Street from the Post Office to about 51 Grove, and all of Church Street. Within that area, the town's StoryMap names two intersections that "see the most conflict between travel modes." The December 10 meeting focuses on those two.

The town has hired Toole Design and Beta Traffic and Engineering Group to gather and analyze conditions in the Square. Its stated aims are a better public realm, better safety and less traffic congestion. At the October 14 session, the consultant presented a crash map of the study area covering 2021 through 2025. It showed three pedestrian crashes with serious injuries. That presentation is in the Wellesley Media recording.

The data is still coming in

Several of the measurements a redesign depends on haven't been posted yet. The StoryMap lists five data layers to be added "as they become available": traffic volumes and turning counts at the key intersections, an inventory of signal equipment, crash history, use of on- and off-street parking, and a topographic survey. The town's November 3 notice says the December 10 meeting will present "data and design options."

Until those layers are posted, the record consists of what forum attendees and survey respondents have said. The Swellesley Report summed up the early concerns as businesses not wanting to lose parking, main intersections that feel dangerous, and a wish for more places to spend time outside, on sidewalks or in parklets. Attendees also traded parking ideas. One suggested extra-large spaces so drivers could pull in without parallel parking and stopping traffic. Others pointed out that larger spaces mean fewer of them. Some floated a tiered parking garage, and others noted how expensive one can be.

The survey asks what people want to see in the Square. The town is looking at pedestrian and traffic flow, safety and amenities along what it calls Wellesley's main commercial corridor.

Where the Square tree is lit

The Holiday Stroll ends with the town tree lighting at the Wellesley Square fire station, 100 Central Street, from 5 to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 6. That building, Station 1, is also the subject of a separate town process that will run past this one.

Station 1 is a two-story stone station on Central Street, built in 1928, as The Wellesley News reported in March. The town's request for architectural qualifications stated that "The Town does not expect Station One (Central) to be a viable candidate for renovation/reuse." Fire Chief Steve Mortarelli told the paper, "The trucks nowadays are a lot larger, so when we purchase a new truck, we have to customize it in order to fit."

The town's Fire Station Master Plan would replace Station 1 with a new headquarters and renovate Station 2 on Route 9. According to the Select Board's September 8 minutes, both could be finished around 2033. The study scored twelve possible sites against fourteen criteria. The two top-ranked sites are on the town-owned North 40 along Weston Road, and the third is 515 Washington Street, inside Morton Park. Response-time modeling showed the new station needs to stay near Station 1's current location to meet national standards for the western and northern parts of town.

No site has been chosen. At the October 1 North 40 workshop, which drew about 200 residents, Select Board Chair Marjorie Freiman said, pausing between each word, "Critically, no…site…has…been…chosen," The Swellesley Report wrote. The town won't ask for feasibility-study funding until spring Annual Town Meeting at the earliest. The future of the Central Street building hasn't been decided. At the October 14 Square forum, one attendee suggested it could become an arts building.

The Square redesign is due to settle its own design during 2027, years before the fire station question is resolved. The planners will be working around a civic building whose own future is still undecided.

The block that is waiting on the plan

The same timing shows up in the Taylor Block, 540 to 568 Washington Street at Grove, where Old School Pizzeria and Rice Burg are tenants. Jumbo Capital bought the five properties from the Sullivan family. In October, Executive Director Meghan Jop said Jumbo was unlikely to do much with the block for about five years, since it is focused first on 888 Worcester Street. According to the Swellesley Report's account of the forum, the word is that Jumbo will wait and see how the Wellesley Square plan turns out.

So the biggest single private holding at the Washington and Grove corner is pacing itself to the public design, and the public design is being shaped by survey responses and meeting turnout this fall.

Shorter-term changes on that block are still happening. Wellesley Jiujitsu, co-owned by Paul Rosado and Paul Karger, plans to open in December in the former Comina space at 566 Washington Street, next to Tutto Italiano. It will offer Brazilian jiu-jitsu, kickboxing and wrestling for adults and kids. Comina closed its Wellesley store in January after more than 32 years.

Dates in the Square through December 10

Each entry below is inside the project boundary and falls during the weeks of the survey and the second meeting.

1. Now through Thanksgiving, 59 Central Street. Bridgewater Chocolate opened in late October in the former Wellesley Toy Shop space. It is the Connecticut confectioner's only current store outside that state. Chocolate turkeys run from about $10 to $230, and store manager Vanessa Brandt said more Thanksgiving products, including ribbon-topped assortment boxes, were arriving. The Toy Shop closed after 32 years.
2. Through December 22, 595 Washington Street. The Cashmere Sale pop-up, run by Heidi Wells, is back in the former Dover Saddlery space.
3. November 29. Last day to submit the Wellesley Square survey.
4. Sunday, December 6. The Holiday Stroll runs from noon to 5:30 p.m., with carolers, Buddy from "Elf," the Grinch and a scavenger hunt. Santa photos are near 75 Central Street from 1 to 5 p.m., and the tree lighting is at the fire station at 5. Scavenger hunt details are due before Thanksgiving.
5. Thursday, December 10, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Public Meeting #2 at Hunnewell Elementary, 28 Cameron Street, on the Washington/Central/Grove and Central/Crest/Railroad intersections.

What happens after the second meeting

The town plans four public meetings in all. The third, in winter 2027, brings the pieces together with a look at streetscape and amenities. The fourth, with the Select Board in early spring 2027, is meant to finalize the design. The goal is a design that could support a request for construction funding at Town Meeting in 2027 or 2028. The town takes project updates by email for anyone who wants each date as it's set.

Changes to a village center's streets, parking and corners can shape how homes nearby are valued. If you own near Wellesley Square and want to understand where your home stands while the plan takes shape, the Barry-Beaver Team can walk you through it. Request a complimentary home valuation.