Wayland Town Center is on the Market

By June Valliere
june.valliere@waylandpost.org

Wayland Town Center is for sale. Zurich Insurance Asset Management Group retained Newmark Capital Markets in Boston to sell the 175,636-square-foot mixed-use properties. Newmark, which has the exclusive marketing rights, is advertising it as a “25-acre mixed-use commercial hub at the center of a 55-acre master-planned community that offers an attractive combination of secure in-place cash flow and diverse upside potential.” No sale price is listed and they are soliciting bids. In their announcement of the sale, the Economic Development Committee said they hoped the new buyer will have retail experience and “bring a vision for improved activation of this central space in Wayland.”

Zurich Asset Management purchased Town Center from the developer for $68 million in 2015. The center represents 1.5% of the town’s 4% commercial base. The grand opening was in December 2013 with 105,000 square feet completed and 80% rented.

The concept was introduced to the town in 2005, and Town Meeting attendees approved by a 395-196 vote in 2006. Residents were promised an idealistic vision of mixed-use development and reduced taxes. They were advised that when completed in fiscal year 2015 or 2016, commercial taxes from Town Center would generate over $500,000, eventually lowering residential taxes. The developer’s original advertisement promised lessors and a potential buyer that the center would attract business, with 21,000 to 835,330 people living three to five miles from the site with average household income ranging from $153,000 to $170,000.

However, 20 years later, there has been business turnover, the owner has never been able to rent some of the spaces and there is limited foot traffic. Both residents and store owners complain about occupancy diversity and the limited number of retail tenants.

A Tangled Legal History

Twenty Wayland LLC, the original developer, presented the original concept to convert the former Raytheon property in the spring of 2005 as a joint venture between KGI Properties, LLC and the Congress Group. The original plans displayed a mini village with condos, retail stores, an entertainment area, a proposed a play space, a seasonal skating rink, a peace garden with benches and a large lawn area for community events. Their plans showed concerts and people doing yoga on the lawn and included diagrams integrated the entire area linking the Wayland conservation land and the community gardens with walking paths and the rail trail.

However, because of misunderstandings, broken promises and legal battles, most of he plans did not come to fruition. Wayland Town Planner Robert Hummel, who was not working in Wayland then, said if this plan had been implemented, it would have addressed residents’ desire for a central intergenerational space.

The failure to implement the original plans was caused by disagreements between the town and developers and protests from residents that resulted in years of litigation. The disputes began in 2005 when the developer claimed that town officials and the Wastewater Management District Commission (WWMDC) failed to provide Twenty Wayland with 45,000 gallons per day (GPD) of wastewater treatment capacity. Discussions disintegrated and the developer filed a lawsuit in 2011. According to court records, the MassDEP eventually released 28,000 of the 45,000 GPD.

In June 2013, a jury found for the plaintiff and ordered Wayland and the town’s WWMDC to pay $990,000 in damages to the Twenty Wayland developers. The town appealed the judgment and after almost a year of negotiations, the case was settled with an agreement that reduced the monetary part of the judgment against the town by the Superior Court, reducing it from $1,227,485 ($990,000 plus interest) to $895,000, a reduction of $332,485.

But this was not the only lawsuit between the town and the developer — there was a long and contentious stalemate between the Historic District Commission and developers. The commission eventually approved an agreement in 2011 that settled the lawsuit and issued a revised certificate of hardship that allowed the developer to begin roadwork on the intersection of Routes 20, 27 and 126 before Town Center construction started.

The Select Board finalized negotiations on the last pending Town Center case with the developer in 2022. That suit alleged that Twenty Wayland breached the 2006 development agreement. The original Memorandum of Agreement dated March 28, 2006 and Amendment No. 1 dated October 20, 2009 required a conservation restriction of at least 10 acres of land for conservation purposes and a transfer of the municipal parcel of approximately 1.6 acres. According to the 2022 Select Board report, “the settlement brought the town a ‘gift in fee simple’ of eight parcels totaling just over 24 acres with approximately half to be designated for conservation purposes.

However, unlike the 2018 agreement which the Select Board failed to consummate, the 2021 agreement permitted the town to divide one of the parcels for general municipal uses and conservation, not just conservation, provided a successful 2022 Annual Town Meeting vote occurred. The original agreement also called for $3 million in gift funds to the town, but it agreed to forgo the remaining $620,000 in gift funds as part of the settlement, a portion of which settled outstanding taxes owed by the developer.
The original plans for the common areas were whittled down with the number of legal disputes and negotiations. The plans for the play area, seasonal skating ring, peace garden, event staging area and connecting trails disappeared. The town succeeded in attaining the conservation land and the municipal parcel of 1.6 acres. What remains is an empty lot and frustrated residents and store owners.

Town’s Perspective

In an earlier interview, Select Board Chair Carol Martin addressed residents’ frustration about Town Center not being the central space to congregate that was planned. She said that the name “Town Center” could be confusing to people, since it was not an area with a mix of municipal buildings, retail and commercial buildings. Town Center is a private space with shops and offices. She pointed out that Town Manager Michael McCall says Wayland has two centers of town – the Cochituate village area on Route 30 and the municipal area on Route 20 — while most towns have one. Neighboring towns such as Natick and Wellesley have one center with shops and municipal buildings covering multiple blocks with public owned sidewalks and streets.

Hummel said integrating the town buildings with what is called the Town Center is part of a ten-year plan. But for that to happen, they have to wait until businesses and other structures are sold, and zoning changes will be required, he said.