Good morning,

Both newsletters last week leaned heavily into the Newton City Council’s infuriating decision to not allow businesses to participate in its “discussion” about the office market.

Today, we’re shifting our focus to housing in Wellesley.

We also have some good news about the lab market and an introduction to the newest member of your chamber team.  

Plan warns of threat to Wellesley’s long-term vitality

After a year-long process, the Town of Wellesley has released a draft of its long-awaited Strategic Housing Plan.

The 95-page report, produced by the respected Barrett Planning Group, warns that the town is undergoing a demographic shift that threatens its long-term vitality:

• Wellesley’s population of young professionals has declined by more than 3,100 since 1990 and the town is projected to lose nearly 9% of its population under 20 by 2050.
  
  
• This isn’t because people don’t want to live or raise families in Wellesley: Over 80% of homes are single-family detached. Nearly half of Wellesley’s owner households are either one- or two-person households, yet 63.6% of owner-occupied units are four or five bedrooms.
  
  
• Well over 50% of moderate-income renters are cost-burdened. Over half of those who work in Wellesley commute more than 10 miles to get to their jobs.

Less impressive are the report’s recommendations

Among the 48 strategies in Wellesley’s Strategic Housing Plan, we see only a handful that might increase housing production. And too many of the actionable strategies are sidelined as “long-term” actions

The plan also largely avoids bold, targeted solutions that would streamline permitting or unlock restrictive zoning, both of which are essential for enabling development.

We applaud town leaders for their stated commitment to addressing the town’s substantial housing needs. But as we outlined in a letter to the select and planning boards, we urge that the draft be revised to reflect the urgency and scale of the town’s housing supply and affordability shortage with clearly defined goals, commitments and timelines.

Planning Board divided on how to proceed

Early indications are that most Wellesley Planning Board members don’t share our view.

At its virtual meeting last week, members offered two distinct visions on how to move forward.

Most favored a slow, consensus-building approach, implementing strategies that already have town-wide support and doing so incrementally.

Planning board member Jim Roberti disagreed.

He viewed the housing plan as an opportunity to show leadership and criticized his colleagues’ dismissal of some of the plan’s more meaningful strategies — such as allowing large homes to be converted into multi-unit buildings — because it could cause “angst among many residents.”

“You guys seemed reticent to do much of anything and keep saying we don't see this as a priority,” Roberti said.

“We have all those 30-somethings who cannot move here and all these elderly people who have to leave here,” he added. “They do not seem to be being represented by anybody, and I thought I that might be our role. I think we gotta make a decision on whether we are pro-housing or not.”

His colleague Kathleen Woodward pushed back.

“It doesn't do any good to lead if no one is gonna follow you,” Woodward said. “If you keep doing the right things over time, they [the public] will come along.”

Shortly after Roberti vanished from the Zoom screen.  

It’s not clear if Roberti logged off out of frustration, or for another reason. But it’s something he’s done too many times before.

Leaving the meeting just because the conversation isn’t going the way he wants is the opposite of showing leadership. It undermines Roberti’s credibility and ability to represent those who elected him, as well as those who want to live in Wellesley and need his advocacy.  

Wellesley needs housing…and leadership

One last thing:

When Barrett Planning Group Managing Director Judi Barrett  presented her draft of Wellesley’s Strategic Housing plan to the town last month, she noted that “fractured leadership for housing” and “unresolved policy decisions about housing and land use” are among the top barriers toward addressing the town’s chronic housing needs. (page 26)

We agree.

We also recognize the town’s leaders are in a tough spot: A large and vocal number of  residents say they’re worried that expanding and diversifying Wellesley’s housing stock will “destroy the town’s character.”

We believe the opposite is true:

• Not creating opportunities for young families to live in Wellesley harms the town’s character.
  
  
• Not allowing people who work in Wellesley to live in Wellesley harms the town’s character.
  
  
• Losing cherished Wellesley businesses due to workforce shortages harms the town’s character.
  
  
• Pricing out all but the most affluent harms the town’s character.

Preserving Wellesley’s character depends on creating varied, multi-generational, housing options for current and future generations.

The chamber supports the adoption and intention of the Strategic Housing Plan but urge the town to expand and elevate its most impactful strategies to meet the town’s urgent housing needs.

I welcome your thoughts.

Tuesday grab bag

• President Trump’s just passed federal budget zeroes out $17 million in federal funding for SCORE, a program that has offered free, volunteer business mentoring to thousands of entrepreneurs (including chamber members) since 1964. (BBJ)
  
  
• Watertown has 45 commercial customers who have contracted with the city to provide trash and/or recycling serviced by the Republic Services. There may be others who have direct contracts with Republic. 
• We’re interested hearing from any business in our chamber communities that’s struggling with solid waste removal due to the Republic strike.
  
  
• From the MetroWest Daily News: “How downtown Natick has become a focal point for redevelopment.”
  
  
• Big news: Newton City Councilor Lenny Gentile is reportedly not seeking reelection. Nomination papers for candidates interested in running for mayor, councilor or school committee are due one week from today (July 22)
  
  
• The deadline for running for office in Watertown was yesterday (July 14).
  
  
• Massachusetts moved up from No. 38 to No. 20 on CNBC’s list of state competitiveness. But we’re ranked No. 49 out of 50 when it comes to the cost of doing business, ahead of only Hawaii.  (BBJ)
  
  
• Swimmers were scheduled to take their annual dive into the Charles River on Sunday. But due to elevated bacteria levels, "City Splash" was canceled. (CBS Boston)
  
  
• Sixteen municipalities remain out of compliance with the MBTA Communities Law. (MassLive)
  
  
• In a letter to Fig City News, Newton City Councilor Tarik Lucas took issue with something I wrote in Friday’s chamber newsletter. I wrote that Lucas “scolded those who had requested business community participation for failing to mention in their emails what a 'remarkable job' [Committee Chair Lisle] Baker does.”  In his letter Lucas writes, “I would never scold residents who write to the City Council…my comments were directed at Mr. Reibman.” Here’s the video. Decide for yourself.

Lasell Village adding 42 independent living units

Lasell Village has been issued a $135M tax-exempt bond by MassDevelopment for the renovation and expansion of its senior living facility in Newton, reports BISNOW

The developer will also use the bond to purchase 1.4 acres owned by the university to build  42 new independent living units along with a wellness center, dining venue, library and spaces for arts, academics, and social activities

The new, four-story McGuire Hall was named in honor of civil rights leader and education pioneer Jean McGuire.

Positive news in the lab sector

Greater Boston’s lab market saw leases more than double in the second quarter of 2025, “a positive sign after a winter and spring with very little movement in the life sciences real estate market,” writes the BBJ’s Hannah Green.

There were 19 leases signed in Q2, according to JLL, compared to eight in the first quarter, including Mariana Oncology adding 30,000 SF in Watertown.

Unfortunately Green doesn’t have positive news about Newton biotech Karyopharm Therapeutics. The Wells. Ave. company is reducing its workforce 20% and also shrinking its workspace.

Welcome to our newest teammate

Finally, this morning, join us in welcoming Gabby Mantello to the chamber team.

Mantello is our new programs and events coordinator, which means she plays a key role in organizing and executing the chamber’s nonstop mix of events and programs—from early-morning networking events, to webinars and large-scale annual gatherings.

The North Adams resident is a Class of 2025 Lasell University grad, where she studied event management and photography, so she knows her way around our communities.

If she looks familiar to you, it’s likely because before joining the chamber team full-time,  Mantello was our intern. So yes, she knows all about Spring Seasonings too.

Email Mantello at gmantello@charlesriverchamber.com, and connect on LinkedIn.

Say hello and share your ideas about programs and events you’d like to see from your chamber.

And that’s what you need to know for today — National Respect Canada Day — unless you need to know if you’ve begun talking like ChatGPT

Be back on Friday.

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.