On September 18, Rick Mongeau stopped a group of hikers beside the Weston Road Community Gardens on the North 40. Mongeau volunteers with the Wellesley Trail Committee, and he asked the group to take a moment "to really enjoy what we have here." The walk opened the committee's Fall 2026 guided series. It also happened to fall three days after the Select Board reviewed a Fire Department study that rated two spots on that same land as the best sites for a new fire headquarters.
The trail is still open. The question over it is real, but it is also slower and more limited than the September news cycle made it sound. The town arranged the purchase so that this exact question could come up one day, and the next binding decision is more than a season away.
What the 2014 purchase set up
Wellesley bought the 46-acre North 40 from Wellesley College in 2014 for $35 million. The Swellesley Report says the purchase agreement requires half of the land to stay open space. The rest was handled on purpose, and the details matter for anyone who walks the purple-arrow loop.
The town's Fire Department FAQ splits the land up like this:
| Portion of the North 40 | Acreage | How it is held |
|---|---|---|
| Total property | 46.1 acres | Bought from Wellesley College |
| Committed open space, in perpetuity | At least 23.05 acres | The 50% open-space commitment |
| Under conservation restriction | About 13.12 acres | The share funded with Community Preservation Act money |
| Financed with taxable bonds | 15.75 acres | Borrowed this way to keep future town uses possible |
The last row tells you the most. According to the FAQ, the town took on taxable bonds even though they cost more in interest, because tax-exempt financing could have limited what that portion of the land could be used for later. The FAQ also says the Weston Road frontage has "consistently been contemplated for potential municipal use." Over the years the town has floated schools, recreation facilities, housing, a community center, community gardens, a land bank and solar panels there.
Barbara McMahon, a Community Preservation Committee member who has lived in Wellesley for 35 years, told the Swellesley Report that people have long assumed the land "is open space, that it's just open parkland." In her view, it was "not the assumption" of the town that the other half would stay that way. Both views fit the record. For twelve years the land has been used as open space, but only part of it is legally protected as open space.
Planning for the North 40 has started and stopped several times. COVID put it on hold in 2020 and 2021. After that, the Select Board chose to "stay flexible to emerging needs" such as the 2024 construction of Hardy Elementary School. The Swellesley Report notes that the town hadn't held a public meeting focused on developing the land in eight years.
Why the Fire Department looked at Weston Road
The Fire Department spent a year on the study with Context Architecture. It found that Station 1 in Wellesley Square, which is nearly 100 years old, needs to be replaced, and that some operations and administrative staff should move out of Station 2 on Route 9 into a new headquarters. On the town's site-selection matrix, dated August 3, 2026, 156 Weston Road opposite Curve Street scored 89.5 and 156 Weston Road opposite Howe Street scored 85.75. The next-best option, 515 Washington Street, scored 73.0. According to the FAQ, the Washington Street parcel is Morton Park land under the care of the Natural Resources Commission and is protected under Article 97.
For trail users, the size of the footprint matters. The preliminary study area is about two acres, and the FAQ says the exact footprint "has not been determined and may be reduced." That would be less than 5% of the property. The FAQ also lists limits on any building. The Cochituate Aqueduct runs under the site. It is a historic masonry structure listed on the National Register, and it has to be protected from excavation, heavy equipment and vibration. The land sits inside the Water Supply Protection District, so a special permit may be needed.
The FAQ also answers a question many gardeners and walkers have asked about sirens. Station 1 currently averages six to seven calls a day, and about half of them already use Weston Road, at all hours.
People who walked with Mongeau responded in different ways. Speaking for himself, not the committee, Mongeau said he hopes "the town really truly investigates" whether a new station is "a need or want." McMahon said, "I don't think it's an all or nothing thing," and suggested a station, gardens and possibly some affordable housing could share the land. No specific housing proposal for the North 40 appears in the town's materials.
The decision calendar runs past this fall
The town held a public meeting at Wellesley High School, 50 Rice Street, on October 1. The notice said the session would focus on "the process, not the project," and specifically "not a fire station or another specific project." It was set up as an interactive charrette on possible future uses of the whole property, and the town said it would share the results and post more information afterward.
The town's documents lay out the steps from here:
- Later this fall: more public engagement focused on the fire station, before a final site is chosen.
- Annual Town Meeting 2027: a request for money to fund a feasibility study. This vote covers the study only. It does not pick a site or approve construction.
- A later Town Meeting: a request for design, permitting and bidding funds.
- Another Town Meeting plus a debt exclusion: both required before construction can start.
- 2033: the earliest completion target for a new headquarters and a renovated Station 2, and only if the schedule stays tight.
The master plan is advisory, and the Select Board doesn't have to adopt its site recommendation. Updates are posted on the town's Fire Station Master Plan page.
Two guided walks left in October
The rest of the Wellesley Trails Committee's fall series goes to two reservations at opposite ends of town. Both walks are free with no registration. They go ahead unless it pours or the wind is high, and leashed dogs are welcome.
- Town Forest, Saturday, October 17, 10:00 to 11:15 a.m., 1.6 miles. Meet at the Longfellow Pond parking lot, using 204 Oakland St. for GPS. The committee calls the Town Forest the largest reservation in Wellesley. The route follows the Longfellow Pond shoreline, climbs a high esker left behind by glaciers, and returns to the pond at the summer residence of Chief Maugus and his Algonquin tribe.
- Carisbrooke, Saturday, October 24, 10:00 to 11:15 a.m., 1.8 miles. Meet at the White Oak Road Trailhead, 50 White Oak Road. The loop starts near the Weston town line and passes rocky outcrops near the source of Cold Spring Brook. It crosses a footbridge over the Wellesley branch of the brook, circles to the far western edge of the reservation, and crosses the Weston branch. Wear sturdy shoes, because parts of the trail are stony and muddy.
The North 40 loop is open whenever you want to walk it. The town's trail guide describes the North Forty Trail as a one-mile round trip, marked with purple arrows and starting from Turner Road near Weston Road. It passes the vernal pool boardwalk and the community gardens, then loops through the woods next to them. The committee's September flyer adds the 500-foot boardwalk, the aqueduct and an unusually large seedling tree to that list. The North 40 is also one section of the Crosstown Trail, a green-arrow route of about six miles that follows the Cochituate Aqueduct from Natick to the Charles River in Lower Falls. The committee's own trail information is at wellesleytrails.org.
Outings that pair with a walk
Several places nearby have fall hours with set end dates. The Garden at Elm Bank is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until its season closes on November 24, with last entry at 4:15 p.m. The botanical-art exhibit "Abundance" is currently on view, and "Herbals of Five Centuries" is in the library from October through December. On November 14, Elm Bank holds a Seasonal Pruning workshop with a morning session and a midday session.
At Wellesley College, 106 Central St., the Davis Museum is showing "Excavating Antioch: The Archaeology of an Ancient City" and "Shi: Stories in Stone." Both run through May 30, 2027. Students lead free tours on Saturdays from 2 to 3 p.m. through December 5, except October 10 and November 28. Tours meet in the museum lobby. So after the Town Forest walk ends at 11:15 on October 17, you have time for lunch before that day's tour.
If you're walking with children, Warren Park at 90 Washington St. reopened over Labor Day weekend with a rebuilt, accessible playground. It has a three-story Volo Aire Tower and separate areas for ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 12.
If you own a home near Weston Road or the Crosstown Trail and want to know how the North 40 planning schedule might affect your plans over the next few years, The Charney Group can go through the town's documents with you. Schedule a private market consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
