Searle Provides Further Detail on Tentative St. James Purchase

Wellesley with the Archdiocese of Boston to purchase the eight-acre plot of land currently occupied by , and at Town Meeting, the Board of Selectmen presented plans for the area.

Board chair Barbara Searle took five minutes at the beginning of the final session of Town Meeting last night to highlight how the town plans to use the eight-acre plot at 900 Worcester St. Plans include a hockey rink, swimming pool and playing fields with parking surrounding the facility.

“We believe that the purchase will give the town much needed land for recreational purposes and to put this large parcel at a gateway location, under the control of the town, in a transaction that is very much in the best interests of the town,” she said.

The town purchased the plot for $3.8 million. Financing for the purchase of the property will be through a combination of Community Preservation Act funds and town funds through borrowing, Searle said.

The purchase is contingent upon Town Meeting approval. A special Town Meeting will take place June 13 to seek such approval. There will be another Town Meeting to decide upon how to act on the financing plans, but Searle said the approval toward purchase is of the utmost importance.

“We do not want to lose this once in a town’s lifetime opportunity to buy this land,” she said.

The Board of Selectmen will provide full details on the purchase tomorrow night at a special meeting at 7 in Town Hall.

The town to some degree had studied the plot over the course of the past 10 years in hopes the land would become available, according to Searle.