City Council in brief: Waltham waives $1.6 million in fees to keep Boston Dynamics in town

The City Council is refunding some administrative fees to Boston Dynamics for the expansion of its Waltham headquarters, as part of a bid to incentivize the company to stay in the city.

Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy visited the council’s Finance Committee at its Monday meeting to ask the City Council to agree to waive $1,592,866 in fees for three Boston Dynamics building permits. 

Although she said the city had offered incentives to keep companies in Waltham in the past, this was an experiment for her to support commercial growth here. “I haven’t done this before, honestly,” she said.

McCarthy said this rebate was part of an unspecified incentive package from the state to encourage parent company Hyundai Motor Group to keep Boston Dynamics headquartered in Waltham, as opposed to moving elsewhere.

Boston Dynamics plans to expand its headquarters to the other side of the highway, building up the north part of 1601 Trapelo Road beside the recently opened Welch’s headquarters.

Building Inspector Brian Bower estimated the company would be investing $72.3 million in work on the new headquarters and bringing additional commercial tax revenue to the city.

Multiple committee members praised McCarthy for her creativity in designing this incentive, asserting it would create a significant return on the city’s investment.

“I think this is outstanding,” said Ward 6 Councilor Sean T. Durkee. “We have to be competitive, we have to be nimble, and I think this is really outside-the-box thinking.”

Other big development plans for Waltham

At a special session, councilors this week also gave final approval to a zoning amendment that would allow companies BXP and 1265 Main Street LLC to build mixtures of housing, retail and offices at three lots around the city. 

Before proceeding with the construction of any new housing or commercial projects, the two companies will have to return to the City Council to seek additional special permits. Representatives of the developers said they’d share more details on plans for the three sites at the Ordinances and Rules Committee’s Aug. 1 meeting.

Additionally, the City Council:

• Accepted a $105,000 state grant for ongoing work to rebuild the patio and roof of the Stonehurst estate. 
• Accepted a donation of stuffed animals for first responders to distribute to children with special needs in emergency situations.
• After an update from McCarthy, passed a $403.2 million budget for the City of Waltham in fiscal 2027. It also approved an additional $18,000 for the city’s parking program responding to rising lighting costs, and transferred money to the city’s stabilization fund, a temporary reserve for unforeseen city costs over the summer.
• Allowed the owners of the Pizzi Farm lot to withdraw an ongoing case to rezone it to residential property. A lawyer representing the property told councilors the Pizzis plan to refile the case in the fall after further discussions with the city’s Law Department. 
• Approved $10,000 to design a project to replace the windows at City Hall.
• Approved $285,513.32 of further construction and design work for future athletic facilities at the site of the former Fernald State School.
• Approved a three-month license for Roadshow Concepts LLC to hold buying events at the Embassy Suites in Waltham twice this summer, from July 7 to 11 and Aug. 18 to 22. The company will have to reapply for a full license in September. 
• Approved a warrant announcing Sept. 1 as the date for the primary elections for senate, state and county races.
• Approved business resolved by council committees last week.
• Granted final approval for the city to purchase two houses on Mount Walley Road to turn into affordable housing targeted at veterans.
• Heard a proposal from McDevitt Middle School civics students to mitigate litter on the Riverwalk by installing a Bigbelly trash compactor at its Moody Street entrance. The Public Works and Public Safety Committee sent the proposal to the Public Works Department for further review. 
• Heard from Assistant City Solicitor Michelle Learned, who said she is updating plans for the repaving of private ways Buxton Lane, Mount Pleasant Street and Marion Street to be ready for the council to review at its Aug. 3 meeting. 
• Suggested conditions for future National Grid work on South Street, asking the company to review them before it returns to City Council. This is the first of two phases of work on South Street; National Grid split the project up in response to traffic concerns from neighbors in December 2024. The Licenses and Franchises Committee asked National Grid to first complete ongoing work on Felton Street, get a traffic plan approved by the Traffic Commission and identify a secured staging area for construction materials.
• Passed a mental health resolution originally proposed in May 2025 after hearing from five mental health service providers operating in Waltham. Durkee said he’d introduced the resolution to reduce stigma around mental health crises and encouraged constituents to reach out to Waltham’s Health Department for resources on the subject.
• Postponed awarding the Kevin M. Ritcey Public Service Award to later in the summer, giving councilors more time to review nominees before their Aug. 3 meeting.
• Postponed further work on implementing a Bluebikes bike-sharing program in Waltham until the council’s Aug. 3 meeting, after McCarthy told councilors she had not had the chance to review their suggestions for bike rack locations.
• Reappointed Erika Oliver Jerram, Loretta McClary and Amanda Thibodeau to the Community Preservation Commission.