The nonprofit behind the affordable housing development planned for 5 Auburn St., which scored that property and building assessed at $4.3M by the town for just $100, now seeks to get in on the first round of Natick’s Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding to the tune of $500k.
Update 8/19/25: The CPC site now shows a Metro West request for $750k in CPA funds. This represents a 50% request increase between the letter of interest and application submittals.
This would be in addition to a possible $600k pledged by the Natick Affordable Housing Trust for pre-development and design costs ($300k has been doled out so far). The Trust in its 2024 annual report stated receiving an $80k appropriation from the town’s general budget.
In its letter of interest in June, Metro West Collaborative Development wrote that the cost to redevelop the former Eliot School site is now projected to be $23M. Costs have risen, the nonprofit says, “partially because of design changes that the development team committed to during the permitting process and because of hazardous materials revealed to be present in the existing building, which will need to be remediated as part of the renovation.” Hazardous materials include asbestos, per the letter. Metro West’s plan would be to use the funding for construction, projected to start in mid-2027.
In an effort to address the town’s affordable housing shortage, the Select Board in 2023 voted 3-2 in favor of the 40B project despite neighborhood objections to its size based on their lived experiences resulting from a hodgepodge of developments along and nearby this stretch of Rte. 16 that have increased traffic and raised safety concerns. Metro West further turned off neighbors when it pitched a roundly panned design for a second building on the property in an effort to get into the state funding queue as early as possible. It was forced to rework that plan for its 32-unit project during the Zoning Board of Appeals process, but with 40B flexibility on its side, the developer resisted arguments to reduce the project size. Metro West repeatedly argued at the May 12 ZBA meeting that reduction in the project would be “uneconomic,” and the ZBA after initial pushback wound up buying that argument and approving the application for a comprehensive permit (disclaimer: we’re not abutters, but live in the neighborhood).
The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) has recently wrapped up fielding letters of interest for CPA funding to be considered for Town Meeting approval in the fall after they go through the CPC process. The 5 Auburn request, one of nine on the CPC’s list, is by far the largest, though Bacon Free Library has submitted two letters of interest requesting funds that would total $507k. Among others filing letters of interest are Morse Institute Library, and the town for South Natick Park improvements and a Memorial Beach shade structure.
CPA funds, which totaled some $2.5M as of May, are derived from a 1% surcharge on property taxes for most (and include some state matching funds). CPC money can be used for investment in historic preservation, open space, recreation, and affordable housing. Other communities, such as Wellesley, mainly dole out funds to town government entities, though with exceptions, such as the independent Wellesley Historical Society. It remains to be seen what approach Natick’s CPC takes on this front, as its CPA request rules state “any Natick resident, community group, or town department can propose projects for CPA funding.”
So far, the CPA funding pitches include two for outdoor recreation, two for community housing, four for historic preservation, and one for community housing/historic preservation. The requests are for a total of $1,750,500. The portal for letter of interest submissions has closed for Fall Annual Town Meeting consideration, but new submissions will be considered after mid-September.
CPC meetings are public, but not recorded for later viewing (other than an orientation meeting held in February). Meeting minutes haven’t been posted since January.
You have got to be kidding me.
Why the town keeps sinking money into this too big project at a clearly inappropriate site (safety, traffic, ecological disruption) is very curious. There are plenty of other available sites in town that could accommodate this. Natick taxpayers shouldn’t have to continue to pay the price for bad decisions from the ZBA and irresponsible developers who haven’t done their due diligence and have been less than transparent on funding. Put the money into existing infrastructure that needs attention and stop lining the pockets of developers at the expense of our taxpayers.
5 AUBURN ST FINANCIAL UPDATE: MWCD CPA REQUEST
1. MWCD recently requested $500,000 from Natick CPA funds for asbestos remediation.
2. If the Natick CPC recommends approval, it’s likely a warrant article will be submitted for approval at the next Town Meeting.
3. It’s surprising that an RFP respondent for purchase of a property would not have done the due diligence to know there would be hazmat remediation. Still, the CPC is considering approval of this Letter of Interest (LOI).
4. This updated table shows the additional losses to town-related funds if this moves forward and is approved. That contributes more than 10% in additional losses, and, for size comparison, that’s more than 7% of the size of our most recent override.
5. Does this make you wonder what other potential expenditures MWCD may not have considered that bring them back for more?
6. If so, in my opinion MWCD should be focused on finding alternatives instead of town-related funds.
7. Let’s not allow this “sale” to become the “gift that keeps on giving” with Natick, its townspeople and its various funding sources being the open-ended gift givers!
8. If Town Meeting votes to authorize the $500,000 request from Natick CPA funds that will increase the projected losses to the town and its related entities to more than $5.3 million over 20 years as compared to accepting the Trask proposal.
Concerned about misuse of taxpayer funds. Hopefully will not end up with a Grand Jury Investigation!