Press Release: 9/18/2025
Wellesley Property Added to Inventory of State Land to be Used for New Housing
First Community Meetings Next Week for MassBay Community College Redevelopment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
9/18/2025
MEDIA CONTACT
Hannah Carrillo, Director of External Affairs
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Call Hannah Carrillo, Director of External Affairs at (857) 421-9298
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Email Hannah Carrillo, Director of External Affairs at hannah.carrillo@mass.gov
WELLESLEY, MA — Today, the Healey-Driscoll Administration has announced the addition of a new property to the State Land for Homes (SLFH) inventory, a supply of underutilized, surplus state properties being fast-tracked for redevelopment into homes. The property is located on a portion of the MassBay Community College (MBCC) campus in Wellesley, 40 Oakland Street, and is approximately 45 acres in total, including a five-acre parking lot.
“It is vital that we are not only building new homes in all of our communities, but we are making it faster and easier to get housing up and online,” said Governor Maura Healey. “We are grateful to MassBay for their partnership in adding this property to our surplus land inventory, and I look forward to seeing new housing and school facilities as a result of this redevelopment.”
At its meeting yesterday morning, the MBCC Board of Trustees voted to support the parcel’s surplus determination, an important procedural step in moving the housing development process forward. The Affordable Homes Act allows proceeds of the sale to be reinvested back into MBCC, which can go towards the construction of the MassBay Center for Cybersecurity Education, Health, and Wellness. This new facility will provide students with access to modern, hands-on learning environments in an emerging field and will free up much needed space elsewhere on campus to meet increasing demand for health profession training. The new health and wellness space will also provide benefits to the community at large.
“To already be adding more to an inventory that was only just launched in June is a clear indication of our dedication to housing production,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “In the past three months we have made progress on developing 10 properties, and we have more where that came from thanks in part to our dedicated higher education partners such as MassBay Community College.”
This is a large property with an approximately five-acre parking lot adjacent to town-owned open space. The parcel is situated close to Route 9 and the Wellesley Hills Commuter Rail station. The Administration is working closely with the school to ensure that the school's parking needs continue to be met during the next steps in this process.
Last night this project was on the Wellesley Select Board’s agenda for the first time. MBCC, DCAMM, and HLC presented initial information about the project and answered questions. The next step in moving this project forward is community engagement, which will kick off with a pair of community meetings hosted by MBCC on Thursday, September 25 and Wednesday, October 8, held in person at 50 Oakland Street in the Library Atrium. DCAMM and HLC staff will also be in attendance.
“From day one of launching the State Land for Homes initiative, we committed to steadily adding more state sites for housing,” said Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus. “Adding the MassBay site in Wellesley proves that commitment. This is an ideal location, steps from commuter rail and Route 9 and primed to provide new homes the community needs, while allowing reinvestment back into the college.”
“Our State Land for Homes initiative is all about partnering across government and within communities to better utilize state assets and meet our pressing need for housing,” said Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew J. Gorzkowicz. “I am pleased to see another property added to the SLFH inventory and grateful to President Podell's team at Mass Bay Community College for their collaboration.”
“We're excited that MassBay can apply surplus land to help address the state's need for housing,” said MCBB President David Podell. “At the same time, we're looking forward to building a center on our Wellesley campus that can address the needs of our burgeoning cybersecurity program, as well as provide new and improved facilities to meet our students' athletic, health, and mental health needs.”
“DCAMM appreciates Mass Bay Community College’s creative thinking about how to leverage the value of their real estate to help meet important capital needs on the campus while also helping address the Commonwealth’s critical need for more housing production,” said DCAMM Commissioner Adam Baacke. “We look forward to working with college and town officials to solicit input from neighbors and other stakeholders to help shape an approach to the project that achieves these goals while also addressing community interests.”
The Healey-Driscoll Administration has made housing a top priority, starting with the creation of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities in 2023. Since then, the Administration has initiated a comprehensive approach that includes passage of the $5 billion Affordable Homes Act, implementation of the MBTA Communities Law, creation of the Momentum Fund, the new State Land for Homes initiative to jumpstart housing production on state land, sizable increases in housing tax credits and subsidies and the elimination of renter-paid broker’s fees. As a result, more than 90,000 new homes have been built or are in development since Governor Healey took office. Most recently, the administration proposed reforms to the MEPA permitting process to guarantee environmental protections while ensuring that priority housing projects are not held back by excessive delay and red tape. These reforms will shorten the permit approval timeline for priority housing developments from one year to just 30 days.