Open Space concerns in Waltham Massachusetts

What is the future of the U. Mass extension in Waltham?

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in a monetary crisis, slashed funding of the University of Massachusetts, impacting the future of the field station in Waltham. The property was purchased by the City of Waltham in March, 2022, for $17 million.

Community Farms Outreach runs Waltham Fields Community Farm, the largest tenant of the site. This non-profit organization supports hunger relief, education, and farm preservation, and organized the other tenants of the site to ensure that the Field Station remained open. GROW (Green Rows Of Waltham) is a large community garden that serves many families in Waltham and surrounding communities. Many other garden and conservation groups, such as the Rose Society, used the grounds, greenhouses, auditorium, and offices at the large site. Several organizations had to relocate when the building there offices were in was closed.

The Field Station lies in the middle of a large area of green open space in the center of the city. Neighbors of the U. Mass property include Bentley College, the Girl Scouts camp, the Fernald School, and the former U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers property which was returned to the city. The college absorbed DeVincents Farms, one of the last independent fresh produce markets in the city, which closed in the winter of 1998. That farm is now parking lots and athletic fields. They managed to acquire a portion of the Corp. of Engineers land that the city should have had first rights to, as did Gann Academy which was built on that site. The city only acquired a portion of the land, the part occupied by asbestos contaminated buildings, and is spending heavily to clean up the land for more athletic fields. The City of Waltham acquired the Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center property in 2014, purchasing two parcels totaling approximately 179 acres for $3.5 million to provide the site and its historical buildings for reuse and community benefit. A playground was built on the site.

Field Station building	DeVincents Farm
The Girl Scouts' Cedar Hill Camp	Army Corp. of Engineers site
Map of the Bentley College area	Bentley College Forest Ave. gate
Waltham Community Farm	GROW (Community Garden)