The concept plan illustrates this potential synergy with a development program anchored by a new Weston Nurseries Garden Center, greenhouses and additional nursery areas located to the north, and a “green” grocer. Additional uses may include a restaurant and complementary small “boutique” retail shops organized along a wide, landscaped sidewalk which can serve as a main pedestrian way with areas for seating, seasonal plantings and other “village” furnishings.

The layout, scale and architecture of the proposed Village Center would be carefully orchestrated to express the appropriate New England character and charm, complemented with stone walls, extensive landscaping and tasteful signage.

North Club Area
Arrival to this village originates from the proposed relocation of Phipps Street. The new road rises more gradually to the upper plateau through an existing wooded slope. The road levels would provide access to the upper tier of the landform with portions of new village housing on either side.

Proposed street widths would be appropriately scaled, designed to enhance the pedestrian “feel”, and allow for on-street parking in some areas. A potential club house could serve as the focal point,, provide a transition from the existing site grades and accommodate a variety of Legacy Farms community functions. Potential amenities include a pool along with tennis courts and a children’s play area. Overlook parks are shown for the north and south ends of the plateau to serve as transitional spaces as well as public, passive recreation. Pedestrian circulation is provided by a public walk system which follows the road pattern and connects the individual tiers to the club house area.

Dwelling types in this village are intended to reflect the nature of the existing landscape. Homes at the upper level will have sweeping panoramic views of the open, flat plateau along the former Phipps Street. Similar views will also be possible from higher portions of site areas to the west. These dwellings will be enhanced by views of the existing tiered levels that descend towards the east.

Two small clusters of “zero-lot line” patio homes are proposed on the upper plateau between the existing Phipps Street and the relocated roadway. To preserve views from the highest portions of the property to the west, these could be predominantly one story, with some two story elements. The intent is to provide a varied and undulated roofscape that frames distant views. These dwellings will be oriented to small, intimate courtyards and gardens. Garages for two cars can be attached or free standing, located to the rear to create privacy and served by an alley (or common drive). This alley system is designed to frame a common landscaped court while providing space for visitor parking. The front sides of these buildings could have porches, fenced courtyards and sidewalks to the public walk system.

The remaining homes in this North Club Area are proposed as townhouses which can take advantage of the existing tiered landscape, utilizing the downhill side to provide garage parking under the homes. The parking can be served by alleyways which provide for parallel guest parking on their outside edge. The nature of the grading tiers will allow uphill dwellings to overlook the top of the buildings on the tier below them, affording each tier the enjoyment of distant vistas.

Northwest Village
This “hillside” village is located in the western portion of the north side. While the grade of this hill is not steep, its elevation is pronounced with sweeping views southwest towards the town center and east towards the Blue Hills. The landscape is typical of the former nursery with open patterns and some groupings of larger, mature trees.

Three and four dwelling buildings of attached single family homes, in one- and two-story vernacular, are proposed. These buildings should relate architecturally, appearing as single buildings reflective of a rural, pastoral character.

To preserve existing tree groupings and minimize grading, buildings will be located to maximize views and privacy as well. A number of the buildings may share common drives, minimizing driveways along the loop road that accesses the northwest village. The buildings are also situated such that an open space of restored meadow can meander behind and in front of the buildings reinforcing the sense of farm buildings in a field.

Legacy Park
Located at the northernmost corner of the property, Legacy Park provides an opportunity to attract a niche user, drawn to the unique environment of Legacy Farms. The Liberty Mutual facility located at the end of Frankland Road provides an example of such a use and location.

This site provides the appearance of a campus setting while being readily accessible to the regional highway system and commuter station in Southborough. The plan illustrates a potential office, life sciences or possibly a mix of such uses with the building sited at a gradient below the spine road to be framed by an existing stand of mature trees. Parking is situated to allow uninterrupted landscape and views in front of and behind the building. The nature of this peripheral location within Legacy Farms may provide for a more dramatic architectural expression than in other areas.

Northeast Village & North Village
This village is made up of residential dwellings located on the east side of the spine road within an area that is predominantly open due to its prior nursery use. The land descends from the north south roadway to the east, at a grade that ranges from four to twelve percent. Distant views are to the northeast.

Northeast Village housing types would be varied and could include small lot single family, attached patio homes and 4-unit buildings containing simplex and duplex dwellings. The majority of the dwellings along the north-south roadway could be served by a rear alley (or common drive) to minimize curb cuts and garages along the spine roadway. Responding to the existing nursery roads, the pattern of the village and land bays is aligned with a primary view corridor, which quickly gives way to a naturalistic looped road system. Due to the existing grade change, dwellings on the road look over the dwellings along the lower gradient which in turn look over dwellings further down slope. The placement of homes is orchestrated to create a flowing pattern of open space, the informal portion of which would be a restored, meandering meadow.

The Northeast Village roadway closes on a loop at the lowest portion of the village which frames an area of existing vegetation associated with a wetland. Buildings in this area are tucked in against the existing wooded edge.

This northernmost area (North Village) is snuggled into an area of existing woodlands with an understory dominated by mature rhododendrons. The land bay is gently sloped to the north and opens to a cleared meadow area in the center portion. Several existing nursery paths provide access to this meadow.

The dwelling types are shown as duplex, one- and two-story buildings with two car garages. Using the existing paths as a one-way looped entry allows the preservation of green space with mature trees which ends on a loop road that frames the existing clearing. Building sites are set within the wooded areas and at the edge of the clearing.

South Side

The proposed north-south roadway begins at Clinton Street and weaves its way through the landscape characterized by the existing land patterns of the nursery operations. Utilizing existing wetland crossings, the roadway turns to the north, intersecting with East Main Street just west of the proposed Village Center. This road will connect the Legacy Farms villages of the north and south sides providing a continuous link from Clinton Street to Rafferty Road and allow traffic an alternative to negotiating Hopkinton Center and the intersection of Main Street (Route 135) and Cedar Street (Route 85).

Southwest Village
The Southwest Village frames the spine road as it turns towards the north to its intersection with East Main Street. This village is proposed to contain a variety of housing types including single family, duplex and patio homes, townhouses and garden style apartments.

To provide a transition to the existing single family homes along Curtis Road, new single family homes with similar lot and building sizes would be located along the east side of the spine road. A cluster of townhouses located on the west side provides a higher concentration of dwellings within a walkable distance to the planned Village Center.

Apartment homes are proposed south of this townhouse area, separated by a buffer of existing wetlands and natural vegetation. The two- and three-story “garden” style buildings would be served by surface parking and have the potential for their own amenity area which may include a pool, small club house and play area. Across the street to the east is a small cluster of attached single family homes in clusters of two- and three-dwellings to the building. These buildings will be a mix of single and two-story dwellings each with a two car garage. The orientation of the garages to the street is varied to create a more interesting streetscape.

Southeast Village
This village located on either side of the primary spine road, will be comprised of clusters of homes framed by an undulating landscape of restored meadow and grassland. The clusters form their own internal and more formal open spaces. Single family homes are shown along Clinton Street to continue the scale and building/landscape relationship already present. These Clinton Street homes are anticipated to be of similar size and massing to those existing homes on the street. Lot sizes are deliberately varied to allow for a more informal, flowing landscape of open space.

Within the village, smaller single family homes on smaller lots will frame a landscaped entry court. This will be mixed with attached two- and three-cluster single family “patio homes” and duplexes on the north side and clusters of townhouses and attached single family homes on the south side. Patio homes are typically a mix of one to two floors with primary living spaces oriented to private courts and enclosed patio areas, gardens and garages. The larger buildings, “Courtyard Homes,” shown on the south side are two- and four-cluster patio home combinations with common driveway “courts.”

To take advantage of existing topographic changes, two clusters of townhomes are shown in the area to the west of the Courtyard Homes. The land in this location slopes away from the spine road allowing garages to these buildings to be tucked under on the “downhill” side.

South Side Club Area
This recreation area is located to take advantage of natural amenities such as the pond and stream in the southeast portion of the site. This area could accommodate a potential clubhouse, pool, tennis courts, and children’s play area. In addition to parking for this facility, this area could also provide some off-street parking to serve as a trail head for the public trail system of the south side.

East Main Street Commercial and Residential Area
Residential and non-residential uses of the proposed developed portions of Legacy Farms share the same overall goal: to provide for a variety of opportunities in a manner that respects the scale and character of the existing landscape and built environment. The commercial area proposed for the parcel on the south side of East Main Street expands the small scale retail and office opportunities of Legacy Farms.

This commercial area proposes a mix of professional and medical office (e.g. medical, dental, legal, investment) retail uses and residential within an architectural style and scale that is compatible with its surrounding context. The overall configuration of the buildings is intended to take advantage of existing wooded buffers to screen the area from adjacent residential.

The residential portion, located to the south, proposes townhouses clustered around green areas. The townhouses will be primarily two stories to provide a transition from the commercial area to lower density residential. This area could be accessed from either Clinton Street or through the East Main Street Commercial area. It overlooks a large area of open space with a pond to the south and is framed by large pines to the southwest.