¡Buenos días y feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Wellesley’s Centennial Reservation and the adjacent state-owned land known as MassBay Forest are gorgeous spots and cherished community assets.

Together, they seamlessly provide more than 85 acres of open space, rolling meadows and woods.

If you’ve never been, you should visit.

So it’s not surprising that many residents were mortified last June when they first heard the state might build homes on the MassBay portion of the forest, as allowed by right under a 2024 law designed to help address the region’s housing crisis.

The good news is that’s not the state’s plan. It never was.

The commonwealth has since confirmed in writing that it’s looking to allow no more than 180 housing units, including 36 affordable units, to be built largely on a slab of asphalt: a parking lot just down the hill from MassBay Community College’s campus at 40 Oakland Street. Proceeds from the land sale would help fund a new athletic center and cybersecurity center for the college.

In return, the MassBay Forest — which is unprotected today —would be placed under a permanent conservation restriction.

As in protected forever.

I’ve personally never understood why town leaders never celebrated this.  As one member of the town’s Advisory Committee said last week, “It’s hard not to see the conservation of 95% of the land as a win.”

Nevertheless, after months of closed-door executive sessions, the Select Board has called for a Special Town Meeting next Monday to ask if the town should accept the state’s offer, negotiate for a smaller number of homes, or ask the courts to squelch the whole McGillicuddy.

The state insists 180 homes is not negotiable. It’s asked for the town’s input by May 13, just two days after the Town Meeting vote.

Perhaps Monday’s nonbinding vote will put to rest calls to pursue litigation. Perhaps it will launch a collaborative conversation — yet to be had — about the new developments' look and feel, traffic mitigation and other important, unresolved matters.

Perhaps 180 individuals and/or families will soon have the pleasure of living next to Wellesley’s beautiful, forever-protected woods.

Then again, on Monday night, the board is also seeking a $900,000 appropriation for the first year of legal fees, although there’s reason to believe the final bill could cost taxpayers much more.

I value your input.

How nonprofits and business leaders can meet this moment

We’ve just added Marty Martinez, president and CEO of United Way of Massachusetts Bay, to the lineup for next Friday’s (May 15) Spring Business Breakfast at the Needham Sheraton.

Martinez brings more than 25 years of experience working on behalf of children and families across Greater Boston, including as CEO of the national nonprofit Reach Out and Read and as the City of Boston’s Chief of Health and Human Services during the pandemic.

He’ll join three other exceptional nonprofit leaders —  Ashley Stanley from Spoonfuls, Larry Seamans from FamilyAid and Alicia Kabir from Cradles to Crayons — for a conversation about how nonprofits are responding to cracks in the safety net and the role the business community can play at this moment.

This year’s featured speaker is Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.com, who will discuss the future of hiring and online job search.

I hope to you’ll be there too. RSVP today.

Tuesday grab bag

• Polls are open until 8 p.m. for Brookline’s municipal election, with a $23.5 million property tax override hanging in the balance, along with some contested races. Our view here.
  
  
• Gas station owners are getting squeezed at the pump, too. Since the start of the Iran War, profit margins on gas have “shrunk about a nickel” per gallon, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores. That may not sound like a lot, except retail gas profits are roughly 10 to 15 cents per gallon in normal times. (Boston Globe)
  
  
• Restauranters and other businesses plan to descend on Beacon Hill tomorrow (Weds.) to plea for new laws limiting credit card fees.  Read about an Illinois law that could be a model.  
  
  
• DCR will host a virtual public meeting on May 7, 6 p.m. to share early designs for a new passive park on the former 13-acre GSA site in Watertown’s East End — register here and submit comments through May 21.
  
  
• National Development has acquired 93 Worcester St., a class A office and life science property at the intersection of Route 9 and Interstate 95/Route 128 in Wellesley. The  277,000 SF property will be repositioned as Wellesley Crossing. Current tenants include Aetna, AXA, Peak Financial Management and the American Heart Association. (ConnectCRE)
  
  
• Michela DeSantis has been promoted to vice president of development at Boylston Properties. DeSantis is also a vice chair of the chamber’s board of directors.
  
  
• Any day of the week can be Cinco de Mayo in your office.  Anna’s Taqueria is offering chamber members a free group salsa, guac & chips with any first-time catering order of $250+. Contact  Alex Kim, at alex@annas.com.
  
  
• Enjoy this story about how the Watertown DPW saved a family of ducks.
  
  
• Thursday (May 7) is Bike to Work Day. Join a group cycling through Needham, Newton and Watertown into downtown Boston.
  
  
• Get too many, or not enough emails from us? You can add or change your email preferences anytime here or by the “update preferences” link at the bottom of our emails. Or contact info@charlesriverchamber.com,

Onyx takes over former You-Do-It building in Needham

Commercial real estate investment and development firm Onyx Partners is taking over the former 30,000 SF “You-Do-It” Electronics building at 40 Franklin Street in Needham.

The Needham company, currently headquartered on Reservoir Street, reportedly plans to occupy the building itself.

“You-do-it” was Radio Shack on steroids. It closed in 2024 after 75 years in business and belongs in the history books for its contribution to the computer revolution that emerged along America’s Technology Highway in the late 1950s.

Income tax cut proposal raises costly questions

Finally, if you haven’t been paying attention to the many ballot questions that may end up before Massachusetts voters this fall, now would be a good time to start.

Some could have a significant impact on your business, the economy and the state’s viability.

Yesterday, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation — a group we often look to for advice on state fiscal matters — sounded the alarm about three proposed ballot questions, including the proposal to reduce the state’s income tax rate from 5% to 4%.

MTF warns the cut could create a significant gap in the state’s budget, estimating a roughly $5 billion annual revenue loss once fully implemented.

“Managing the impacts of a tax cut of this scale would be challenging at any time,” MTF said. “But implementing these reductions just as major federal cuts to health care and other domestic programs are set to begin makes the fiscal impacts of this proposal doubly problematic.”

MTF’s warning comes just as the state budget office claimed separately that a tax rollback could actually raise taxes, particularly for S-Corp businesses, reports the Globe’s Jon Chesto.

Due to a quirk in state law, passage could also result in an alarming $480 million in lost charitable giving to nonprofits.

MTF also details concerns about the proposed statewide rent control measure and the state’s annual cap on allowable tax collections.  Details are here, along with at the end, MTF’s recommended alternatives to the income tax cut.

Please let me know whether you believe any of MTF’s alternatives might be helpful to your business or how you feel about the proposed income tax rollback.

That’s what you need to know for today —the first Three Stooges film was released on this day in 1934 — unless you need to know that you are less likely to get cancer if you’re married.

Enjoy this beautiful day.

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

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Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.