FRAMINGHAM – A better link between the Getchell and Weston Aqueduct trails and an elevator for the Athenaeum are among this year’s requests for Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds.
The Community Preservation Committee will review all applications for “essential elements” and completeness at its meeting on Monday, Nov. 9, beginning at 7 pm. The committee expects to hold public hearings in March 2027 on projects it deems eligible for CPA money.
Other FY 2027 applications include a bathroom extension at the Old Academy in Framingham Centre, a feasibility study for a floating boardwalk at Farm Pond, and work on the H.H. Richardson train depot downtown.
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Carol Getchell Northern Extension
This trail connection project would create a short, vastly improved trail between the Weston Aqueduct and the Getchell trails. There is currently a path between the two, but it quite narrow and has a steep section with tree roots that can be difficult to navigate. (Plus it appears to go through a private backyard, or at least come very close).
The existing path is “creating erosion issues on a steep and unsafe connection,” the application explains. “An alternative route could be created that connects through tall white pine trees on a less steep slope.”
From the application:
“The short, dashed line is the Getchell Trail, the long, dashed line is the Weston Aqueduct trail. The yellow lines are existing chain-link fence, the red line shows a proposed path alignment that is less steep and reduces erosion issues.”
The Weston Aqueduct Trail goes from Water Street near Potter Road into Wayland and Weston. The scenic Getchell trail runs along the Sudbury River from Little Farms Road off Elm Street to Sudbury Landing near Danforth Street in Saxonville.
The proposal is backed by both the Sudbury, Assabet & Concord Wild & Scenic River Steward Council and the city’s Conservation Department and requests $70,000.
Athenaeum Phase 2.1
The Athenaeum elevator project would be another step in a decades-long attempt to restore the historic Saxonville building so it can return to public use. The city-owned facility was closed for repairs in the 1990s.
“Since then, the City has allowed its overall condition to progressively deteriorate, even though Framingham granted a Historic Preservation Restriction on the building in 1996,” according to the application. “Since 1992, Athenaeum Hall has been on the National Register of Historic Places. . . .
“Framingham’s 2022 Community Preservation Plan identifies it as a primary target for historic preservation, and it is on Framingham Historical Commission’s watch list of the City’s most endangered historical assets. Today, despite recently completed CPC-funded exterior improvements, the empty and unheated Athenaeum arguably is Framingham’s most at-risk City owned historic structure.”
CPA funds recently helped restore three sides of the building’s exterior. The next request is for what the applicants are calling Phase 2.1: constructing an addition to ultimately house an “elevator and related electrical and fire prevention systems.” Applicants said they will come back in fiscal year 2028 for money to purchase and install the elevator, and fire safety and HVAC equipment.
The city’s Capital Projects & Facilities Management Department and Friends of Saxonville are jointly requesting $500,000 for FY 2027.
The goal is to create “a fully accessible civic center and community hall for all Framingham residents,” they said. The city has previous spent several million dollars to preserve and upgrade historic Village Hall in Framingham Centre.
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