Framingham To Take 131 Pieces Of Property For $11M Union Ave Redo

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham may soon acquire over 100 small pieces of property along Union Avenue to make way for a major roadway overhaul mostly funded by federal dollars.

The rebuild of 1.4 miles of Union Avenue between downtown and near Framingham State University has been in the planning stages for years. The project will cost about $11 million, with all but $3 million coming from the federal government through the regional Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).

Framingham City Engineer Eric Johnson gave an overview of the project to City Council on Tuesday. The city is under an April 27 deadline to authorize the project, which will include Council signing off on using eminent domain to acquire 131 pieces of property.

Framingham began notifying property owners about the need to acquire property in October 2019. Since then, an independent assessor has looked at each property and assigned a value. The city is paying for each property that's not already in the public right of way, although property owners do have the option of donating land to the city.

As of Tuesday, 109 property owners had acknowledged receiving notifications about their property, Johnson said. The city is waiting on 68 responses, and there are nine property owners who have either not received a notice or dispute their assessment. So far, the city has spent $375,000 acquiring property, and two property owners have agreed to donate land.

"In the recent months follow-up letters were sent to properties with large temporary easements and any significantly sized permanent easements," Johnson wrote in a March memo to City Council. "Phone calls, emails, and on-site meetings also took place with several of these property owners. It should also be noted that DPW staff have met and exceeded the federal and state communication requirements for this process and continue to communicate directly with the affected residents."

Framingham will be on the hook for about $3 million of the total cost, including acquiring property, design work and moving utility poles and other pieces of equipment.

Once approved by City Council, Framingham will seek bids for the work beginning in the fall. Construction will happen in 2022 and 2023, with an expected completion date sometime in 2024, Johnson said.

Johnson highlighted the urgency of hitting the April 27 deadline: the MPO is facing an $11 million deficit this year, and is looking to make cuts.

In the end, Union Avenue will be completely repaved, and will feature new bike lanes, a new bridge over the Sudbury River, about 100 Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curbs and crossings and new traffic signals at Lincoln and Walnut streets.