This land has been added to the Commonwealth's Surplus Land list under the Affordable Homes Act. Despite months of petitioning by our citizens through direct engagement with MassBay Community College, DCAMM*, and EOHLC*, the 45-acre property remains on the Surplus Land list to be sold to a private developer to build a minimum of 180 housing units and parking.
*Department of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance
*Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
Read the following articles to help make sense of it all:
"Let's not accept a check-the-box narrative for MassBay property," Letter to the Editor, The Swellesley Report
Wellesley Conservation Land Trust clarifies Boston Globe article
Visit Our Partner Organizations
Learn about the legal effort being undertaken by residents and the firm of Hill Law to defend these 45 acres of land, and how you can help.
WELLESLEY CONSERVATION LAND TRUST
- Protect and preserve the natural environment in Wellesley
- Maintain sanctuaries open to the public for study and enjoyment
- Educate youth and interest adults in matters of conservation
Protect the Brookside Area (Centennial Reservation, Longfellow Pond and Brookside Road) from threats that would compromise this important and sensitive area.
Sign the Petition
Join over 3,300 people who are asking for this land to be removed from the Surplus Land Inventory, including the Wellesley Conservation Land Trust and the Friends of Brookside.
Contact Officials
Call, email and meet with our officials. Speak at Tuesday night Select Board Meetings. Click below for emails and instructions. Read what others are writing for inspiration.
Read "You Can't Rebuild Forest" in Wellesley College's Wellesley News
Wellesley Select Board Asks Questions in Letter to The State
The full letter is here.
The Wellesley Select Board sent a seven-page letter to Ed Augustus, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Livable Communities (HLC), laying out 37 questions about the proposed sale of the 45 acre parcel for 180 units or more of housing at 40 Oakland Street. The questions reflect the Select Board’s concerns, as well as the community’s, regarding this project. The first ten questions are foundational and address the pertinent issue of how this land was declared as “surplus,” as well as the resulting negative impacts that such a large development could have. The Select Board also identifies 27 other questions that are equally important. We believe the magnitude of concerns are well expressed in these 37 unanswered questions. The first 10 questions are listed below.
UPDATE
Friends of Brookside remains steadfast in its mission to protect the 45-acre parcel at 40 Oakland Street for future generations. Our core purpose remains unchanged: to ensure that every acre of this publicly used forest stays intact for our children, grandchildren, and beyond—just as it has been preserved for us. This land has long served the community as accessible open space, offering recreation, reflection, and connection to nature. Once a mature forest of this scale is lost to development, it cannot be replaced.
The Wellesley Select Board submitted over three dozen questions to the State, and answers have yet to be provided. Chief among them is whether this land is protected under Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution, and whether it can properly be classified as “surplus.” No proposal can be evaluated as beneficial to the Town of Wellesley until these threshold legal questions are answered. As foundational issues, they need to be resolved to responsibly evaluate, negotiate, or advance any proposal.
This forest is not “surplus” land—it is core conservation land that functions as a critical part of Wellesley’s largest contiguous conservation area. Friends of Brookside disputes the “surplus” determination, and maintains that this land qualifies for Article 97 protection. MassBay Forest directly abuts Centennial Reservation formally protected under Article 97 together creating 80 acres and the Centennial Reservation Trail. Hundreds of residents use these trails daily for walking, exercise, and mental well-being.
The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has identified both parcels as prime forest. It is a valuable ecosystem that provides carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, stormwater management, heat reduction, and natural water filtration. The entire area is in a Water Supply Protection District and importantly, six of Wellesley’s ten drinking water wellheads are in this area off Oakland Street, underscoring its environmental and public health importance.
Friends of Brookside also remains deeply concerned about the dangerous precedent that selling this forest would create statewide. Using the Affordable Homes Act to dispose of publicly used forest land opens the door for similar actions across Massachusetts. Many forests lack formal Article 97 designation yet function as essential public resources. If this public asset can be declared “surplus” and sold to a private developer, others may be vulnerable as well. This issue extends beyond Wellesley—it is about protecting public lands across the Commonwealth.
Moreover, the Affordable Homes Act preempts important local zoning authority in favor of single-issue, unfunded state mandates. Circumventing local review and guidance disregards the expertise of town staff, elected officials, and Town Meeting members who are charged with upholding community priorities and environmental safeguards.
Public support remains strong. More than 3,300 residents have signed a petition urging the State to remove this land from the “surplus” list. Friends of Brookside maintains that the MassBay Forest is Article 97 land and should be recognized and protected accordingly.
Visit Friends of Brookside for more indepth information about this proposal.
MASSBAY FOREST WALK
Saturday, December 13, 2025; 10:00am
Thanks, again, Wellesley Trails Committee, for leading over 50 people (and several pooches) for an informative walk through the MassBay Forest last Saturday morning. The property lines between Centennial Reservation and MassBay are now marked, but the lands are indistinguishable from each other.
Over 30 residents attended the post-Thanksgiving morning walk. We appreciate everyone's interest in preserving this important land.
Standing on the land designated as surplus to be sold to a private developer.
Views of the Blue Hills in the distance as seen from MassBay Forest
The MassBay Forest is contiguous to the Town's 40-acre Centennial Reservation, creating 80 acres of valuable wildlife habitat and migration, passive recreation, flood control, heat mitigation, and water and air purification. The land outlined in white on the map is the MassBay Forest.
Read Our Letters to the Editor in the Boston Globe!
Read what Others are Saying
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Under the new Affordable Homes Act, these 45-acres have been categorized as Surplus Land to be sold to a private developer.
Read an update here.
For centuries residents have walked, run, and found peace on this land, which has been maintained for decades by Wellesley's Trails Committee, the Natural Resources Commission, and Department of Public Works with approval from MassBay Community College.
December 8
MassBay Visioning Workshop Postponed
Read the Select Board's Statement here.
Please continue to contact Town and State officials to state your opposition to the determination of this land as surplus, and state your opposition
to its sale to a private developer.