Framingham Planning Board Approves Mt. Wayte Redevelopment Project

The Framingham Planning Board Thursday night unanimously approved a California developer’s plans to turn the almost empty Mt. Wayte Plaza in South Framingham into an “Uptown” mix of retailers, restaurants and office space at a cost of $6 million.

The developer formally went before the Framingham Planning Board with the plans in early March.

Planners and neighbors have been enthusiastic about the redevelopment project, which Framingham Patch first reported about in December 2012.

Plaza owner Sam Adams first talked about the project in December 2012, but did not submit plans to the Town of Framingham until March 2014.

The redevelopment project would build two new two-story buildings on the corner of Franklin Street and Mount Wayte Avenue but also renovate the existing main building.

The closed gas station and Fotomat kiosk would be demolished.

The current 50,000 square foot L-shaped building has three tenants (Dunkin Donuts, St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop and a barber shop).

Architectural drawings presented to the Planning Board have the new buildings covered in a combination of limestone veneer with mahogany paneling. The plaza’s sign features the name “UPTOWN” in large letters.

Adams said in March he had no tenants, at the moment, for the project. At the neighborhood meeting last fall, Adams he has had markets interested in the plaza, including small format markets and ethnic markets, but a large size supermarket, like Market Basket or Hannafords, could not fit at that site.

Adams said construction could begin six months after the Planning Board gives the green light to the project, weather permitting. With the August approval, it is likely construction would begin in spring 2015.