Planning Board Hears Details on 9-90 Golf Course Idea

FRAMINGHAM - The Framingham Planning Board heard details on a proposed golf course in the 9-90 area during a public hearing on Thursday, January 16.

WedgeLinks LLC, the Sherborn-based applicant, filed paperwork with the city in late 2024 to create a roughly 10-acre, nine-hole course on a portion of the approximately 31-acre Staples property on Crossing Boulevard. The application, which is co-signed by the current owner of the property, notes that the plot in question is almost completely wooded.

The assessed value of the proposed site–which is adjacent to the Southborough Golf Center and is situated about a mile west of the Framingham Country Club–is approximately $1.1 million, according to the application.

The proposal from WedgeLinks includes 39 additional parking spaces within the Staples campus, improvements to the area's landscape and utilities, and a clubhouse that would feature a 100-seat restaurant as well as a pro shop. Representatives of WedgeLinks said on Thursday that the clubhouse would not open right away with the course itself. The plan does not account for any golf carts, as the course is designed to be walkable.

Actions requested by WedgeLinks for the course's development include permits for a site plan review, land disturbance, and stormwater management. The development team told the Planning Board that they're looking to utilize as much of the existing topography and landscape as possible, as attorney Katherine Garrahan of Bowditch & Dewey added on WedgeLinks' behalf that they expect the project to have "minimal impacts" on local infrastructure.

Michael Mahoney of WedgeLinks said the pitch for a new executive course in Framingham was developed with attainability and thoughtfulness in mind for players of all skill levels.

“WedgeLinks, really, was built to bring that to communities: to make these smaller footprint, smaller impact golf courses available to the public and allow play that would really engage people on a much smaller time frame, a more reasonable amount of money, and be more accessible," Mahoney told the Planning Board on Thursday.

The Planning Board permitted a waiver to extend the maximum drive aisle width for the project. More aspects of the plan are to be considered down the line before it can receive final approval, but members of the group praised the WedgeLinks team for their initial presentation on Thursday. Chair Kristina Johnson called the idea a "great activation" of the Staples space, a sentiment echoed by Framingham's Director of Planning and Community Development Sarkis Sarkisian.

"I’m really excited about this," Sarkisian said, "because it’s also going to reinforce that office park…To reinforce this office park, it needs activity. It needs amenities."

Sarkisian added that the office park is currently close to 85% full, thanks to returning Staples workers along with employees of the company Workhuman. He said those tenants have been receptive to WedgeLinks' proposal.

The WedgeLinks team will meet with the Framingham Conservation Commission on Wednesday, January 22 regarding this project.