A packed Natick Planning Board agenda on Feb. 15 included the latest on an intriguing plan to build an assisted living and memory care facility called 200 Pond Road…to be located fittingly enough at 200 Pond Road on the Natick/Wellesley line.
This facility would be about a mile down the road from the new Anthology senior living facility in Natick on Rte. 135.
The proponent for this Pond Road project has submitted a citizen petition for Natick’s Spring Annual Town Meeting for a zoning bylaw change to expand the town’s assisted living overlay plan to cover this property, and was seeking Planning Board support for it at the meeting. The board heard a brief presentation from the proponent, whose team includes a cast of many, as well as from neighbors, and discussion has been continued to March 1.
We broke news about this project last July, when the preliminary plan was to call the facility Wellesley Senior Living.
200 Pond Rd. is a Wellesley address that leads into a long driveway and property located in Natick atop the scenic road that cuts between Rte. 16 and Rte. 135. Overall, the area covers about 10 acres, more than half in Natick. A humungous (10,000 sq. ft.) home sits on the property.
The previous owner of this land previously sold adjacent property to a developer who built 2 houses near the top of Pond Road. Because the property is located on a scenic road, the development was met with some concern from town officials and neighbors, and the eventual homes built were considerably smaller than the ones first proposed to Wellesley.
The proponents of 200 Pond Road made their pitch for this 134-room facility to be situated in “bucolic woodlands” (see Natick Pegasus recording, starting at about the 3-hour, 45-minute mark) by emphasizing benefits to people in need of senior living accommodations and to the town, from tax revenue and building permit fee standpoints. They pointed to the town’s master plan, which calls for more options for senior housing. A lawyer for the proponent said “there are few locations in Natick that were as perfect as this” for the project, suggesting that people will barely notice it being there from a traffic and infrastructure perspective. Information sent to us from the team said the facility would support “the larger community through musical, theatrical, literary, and culinary events like recitals from Billy Joel’s piano teacher, the Yale Whiffenpoofs, and lectures from local professors.”
A handful of neighbors aired their concerns during the meeting, including one resident who argued “it may be the perfect use [of this property] for the companies… it’s not the perfect use for the neighborhood, it would represent a dramatic change to the neighborhood.” Another neighbor aired concerns about whether a seemingly high-end facility like this would actually be out of the price range of Natick residents and possibly be more of a benefit to Wellesley residents (“there’s a lot of money over in Wellesley…”). Other neighbors lawyered up, and their attorney weighed in.
Planning Board members reined in the proponents from presenting too much detail or too many artists’ renderings about their plans, saying this hearing was focused on giving the board a chance to consider whether it wanted to support the citizen petition about the proposed zoning change, not on any project plans. Any such plans would “be taken with a grain of salt” at this point in the process, Board member Terri Evans said.
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How about providing real options to seniors in Natick who are independent and want to downsize?
I want a tiny house and it seems there are no plans for this. My small home and yard in Natick are too much for me at this stage of life and there is nothing available. There are half a dozen million dollar houses in my neighborhood, though.
“HAD TO” REPLY: As a new retiree, and living in Natick, having lived in Wellesley in my younger years, AND having a very responsible, still with college debt, early-mid-life daughter living nearby…
Though I did not attend the meeting, and this could be an exhausting topic, here is yet another brief viewpoint:
Young people need affordable housing, too. Would you consider the young and the old together on this property? Here I am joking of course, BUT please think about this: The indigenous cultures generally consider the child raising years as the “crazy years.” The wise old ones and leaders will not even bother with “those with children” because they know they are too crazy to deal with. They influence the young, and respect the old.
My daughter would love to live in Natick. She sometimes sees a small house come on the market and asks my wife and I for a reality check. “Can I afford it?” So far our answer has always been no. I feel real sympathy for Mary Burke and my daughter. Many would like affordable housing, but cannot find any “tiny homes” in Natick. Why is this? I taught Environmental Science for a couple decades. There is an often used term called “Environmental Prejudice” that means that the people of wealthy means get to dictate who lives near them and what gets built “in their backyard.” In contrast those of lesser means get the landfills (aka dumps), wastewater facilities (aka sewage plants), and so on, built near them. Ask yourself, please, what kind of person you are? Consider that there ARE those who are relatively young, and relatively old, who make very good neighbors, and would be desirable “in your backyard.” You can zone them in, or you can zone them out. Please think deeply about this…..
No need to feel sorry for me, we are lucky to have a house near downtown. I want to take it down, repurpose the hardwood, maybe move the new split into a tiny house. I did appreciate your response and hope your daughter finds housing.
Great report. Keep them coming!
This is a terrible plan
Having had both of my parents in local assisted living and memory care facilities, I see the benefit of these facilities. That being said, the 3 facilities and ultimately multiple floors that my parents lived on were constantly understaffed. There is a dearth of staff to work at these facilities. The staff that are there are overworked, have resident care and food service responsibilities and are woefully underpaid for what they are asked to do. Having lived this for years, I agree with other commenters regarding better models are needed for our aging community. As soon as one is a resident at one of these places, the costs continue to increase. The “nickel and dining” of care is relentless. And, if there is not enough staff and your loved one needs extra care, you are forced to hire outside staff for your loved one to fill in gaps at a cost of $40+ an hour that goes mostly to the agency the provides the caregiver. The primary beneficiaries of the current models to house our elders are the venture capitalists and large companies behind them. This often comes at the expense of the staff, the residents, and the resident’s loved ones. This includes at the highest end facilities. It can feel like the goal is to pull as much money and resources from the resident and their family as possible. There has to be a better way.