Wayland affordable housing trust rejects sole bid for Hammond Road home

WAYLAND — August 1, 2023 — Wayland's affordable housing trust rejects sole $1 million bid for a single home at 12 Hammond Road. Trust Chair Michael Staiti, a homebuilder, said the $1,017,000 proposal — roughly $670 per square foot — was indefensible given that his firm builds high-end Weston and Wayland houses for $250 to $300 a square foot. "We can't make free land work," Staiti said, after noting the trust had already lined up the septic, waived the building permit and planned to cover utility hookups. Members voted 4-0 to reject, with Susan Weinstein briefly off the call and recorded as abstaining. The trust will ask Town Manager John Bugbee and town counsel whether it can ground-lease the parcel to a nonprofit such as Habitat for Humanity or B'nai B'rith Housing instead. Trustees separately authorized up to $5,000 for an audit and financial statements.