We edited this article on Aug. 15, 2026.
(Aug. 13, 2026) – On Thursday, the Conservation Commission opened the public hearing for a Notice of Intent filing submitted for 65 Fitchburg Road, where a non-profit builder has proposed affordable housing. This is the Ayer Commons project.
The Ayer Zoning Board of Appeals granted the builder approval to build 106 proposed rental units under the Chapter 40B permit process in January 2023. These will include affordable and workforce units, see website. We have marked this property in blue on the map shown. A landscape company has operated there and this is adjacent to a funeral home. Shop ‘n Save is located across the street.
Last week marked the project’s return to the public permitting process in Ayer. The non-profit builder filed a Notice of Intent (NOi) seeking approval to work within the 100-foot buffer zone, subject to state and town wetland regulations. Here is the Conservation Commission’s public hearing notice, as posted to the Town of Ayer’s website.
The applicant was not present on Thursday; instead, a civil engineer and a wetland scientist/sr. ecologist, opened the initial discussion with the Conservation Commission. Ayer News watched the meeting later via Ayer Public Access video.
The Conservation Commission continued the public hearing until Aug. 27th and scheduled a site walk for the committee members for Aug. 29th.
This project has local support. Residents voted to transfer $400,000 in Community Preservation Funds to support Phase 1 at the Fall 2022 Special Town Meeting.
More recently, the Town of Ayer announced it has secured a $500,000 Community One Stop Growth grant to extend sewer last year. In early 2026, Sen. Ed Markey and Sen. Elizabeth Warren secured a $4 million earmark.