Marlborough Lawsuit Settlement Renews 140-Unit Multifamily Project

MARLBOROUGH, MA — The Marlborough City Council this week approved a settlement with a developer over the Walcott Heritage Farms multifamily project along the Boston Post Road, making way for a new effort to get the project built.

Developer Waypoint Residential came to the city in 2020 seeking a special permit to build a 188-unit development at the former McGee Farm at 339 Boston Post Road. The city council last August ended up denying the permit over concerns about traffic safety after MassDOT declined to install a new traffic light near the project.

Waypoint appealed the decision in state Land Court. That led to a settlement between the city and Waypoint after the two sides entered mediation at the end of 2021. The agreement will put the special permit back in front of city council for another vote, but the city will get some concessions from the developer.

Twenty percent of the project, which has been reduced to 140 units, will be set aside as affordable, up from 15 percent originally. There will also be two additional electric vehicle charging stations installed on site.

To allay traffic concerns, the developer will lobby MassDOT for the new traffic light six months after completing the development. The developer will also conduct a new traffic study after six months.

"Plaintiff agrees to make written request to MassDOT asking it to reconsider the traffic signal at the intersection of Route 20, Village Drive, and the site's main entrance, based upon traffic data reflecting actual full occupancy of the project," the settlement says.

The settlement also says that the project may not break ground until after April 14, 2023. Waypoint will also give the city $20,000 to "study and/or fund a recreational trail for pedestrians along the city-owned sewer land adjacent to the site."

Walcott Heritage Farms would be Waypoint's first in New England. The company has apartment developments across the Southeast and as far west as Colorado.