Waltham Council Gives First Reading to Sweeping 2,000-Unit Zoning Overlay Proposal

WALTHAM -- June 8, 2026, Waltham City Council gave preliminary approval to a sweeping residential-commercial-industrial overlay that could bring up to 2,000 new housing units to the Route 128 corridor. Councillor Kathy Ann Harris moved the first readings on two zoning articles consolidating three prior proposals from BXP and 1265 Main Street LLC; both passed unanimously at the June 8 joint session with the Board of Survey and Planning. BXP representative Keir Evans confirmed the overlay caps units at 1,500 across the Bay Colony and Jones Road sites and 500 at the Market Basket parcel, with a development agreement running with the land. BXP and partner Rick Valorelli of 1265 Main Street LLC have committed to a combined $30 million for the construction of Green Street, a new highway-to-Main Street connection, with bidding to begin July 1; a state-funded Route 117 bridge reconstruction estimated at $45 million to $50 million is scheduled to start in state fiscal year 2030. A standing count at the hearing showed 11 people in favor of the RCI petition and five opposed. A separate petition from Ferris Development Group to join the RCI-2 district at 1432 Main Street, and a Riverfront Overlay extension request for 181-185 Felton Street, were both referred to the Ordinances and Rules Committee without a vote.