WILMINGTON, MA — Beginning January 1, 2024, the Town of Wilmington will have access to the Textron tennis courts and ballfields, following the signing of a 99-year lease agreement between the Town and property owner National Development.
“There has been a significant amount of back and forth, over many months, to attain a long-term lease with the property owner for the tennis courts and ballfields off of Lowell Street,” explained Town Manager Jeff Hull at last week’s Select Board meeting.
Hull and the Select Board met prior to the start of their August 14 meeting — in Executive Session — to discuss the agreement. Any financial terms associated with the agreement were not discussed in public session. The Select Board unanimously approved executing the lease later in public session.
Hull noted the Town would also have the “right of first opportunity” if National Development were to ever subdivide the property and attempt to sell the parcel with the fields and courts.
If the property was not subdivided and was sold, the existing lease would continue on between Town and the new owners.
Access to the Textron fields and courts, located on Lowell Street, is something the Select Board has been eyeing publicly since at least 2019, in part, due to the property’s close proximity with the town’s Yentile Farm Recreational Facility.
National Development purchased 35 acres of the 60-acre site from Textron in 2021 in order to construct 270,000 to 330,000 square feet of industrial warehousing and distribution space. These plans did not impact the future use of the fields and courts.
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