BXP's redevelopment of a Lexington office property includes 312 apartments/Image courtesy of CUBE 3
Office parks and a high-profile commercial property in Waltham would be rezoned to allow large-scale housing development under a push by developer BXP.
The new districts would apply to the Bay Colony and Waltham Weston Corporate Centers on the west side of Route 128, and undeveloped land next to the 1265 Main St. retail development.
Developers have submitted zoning petitions seeking to create new overlay districts in which multifamily housing and mixed-use projects would be allowed. The proposals reflect the lingering downturn in suburban office leasing that also prompted BXP to pursue multifamily developments in Lexington and Weston office parks.
Keir Evans, BXP’s vice president of development, told Waltham councilors in December that the development could include up to 1,500 apartments on Jones Road and Winter Street.
At a subcommittee meeting last week, Evans said the developer is seeking approval of the rezoning before July, when a state-sponsored road and bridge replacement project on Green Street and Route 117 is scheduled to begin. BXP has agreed to contribute $15 million toward the project.
The Waltham City Council is responsible for approving zoning changes and special permits for developments. Because of the size and effects of the potential developments, City Solicitor Katherine D. Laughman recommended that the City Council impose additional requirements: a master concept plan before developers apply for special permits, and development agreements to enforce conditions of approval and mitigation.
“We’d have a little more freedom in a development agreement to have enforceable commitments from developers that are looking to do this work,” Laughman said.
“We would also like to get clarity up-front on what the city would need to support a development of this size,” Evans responded.
Boston Properties owns the 58-acre Bay Colony office park which includes three office buildings at 950, 1000 and 1050 Winter St.
Just before the pandemic in September 2019, it augmented its holdings by acquiring the 880 and 890 Winter St. office buildings, located on a 28-acre property, for $106 million.
The project would conform with Waltham’s inclusionary zoning policy, which requires 20 percent of units to be reserved for households earning a maximum 80 percent of area median income, Evans said.
BXP has hired Fougere Planning & Development to prepare a fiscal impact study, Evans said.
Because of its location near the junction of Route 128 and the Massachusetts Turnpike, Waltham’s office market traditionally has garnered the highest rents in the Boston suburbs. But the market hasn’t been immune to the post-pandemic downturn in leasing.
The Route 128 West submarket had a 22.2 percent vacancy rate at the end of 2025, according to CBRE, compared with 21.6 percent for the overall Boston suburban market.
The nation’s largest office REIT, BXP started its first local office-to-multifamily redevelopment last year in Lexington with a 312-unit apartment complex at 17 Hartwell Ave.
