In 2022, Waltham Mayor Jeanette McCarthy unveiled a major development plan for the site of the Fernald State School which included an extensive recreational facility spanning across the northern portion of the Fernald campus. Although this development has been in the works since the city purchased the land in 2014, there has been little progress made on the site. With the lack of maintenance, there has been an uptick in vandalism in recent years and the city of Waltham has been unable to keep it under control. There has also been a lack of transparency from the city about the progress of the development program.
After acquiring the property in 2014, it was taken over and directly maintained by the state of Massachusetts. Originally, all of the condemned buildings had been protected and fenced off.
Bryan Parcival, a photographer contracted by the city to take photos for the recordation process, was hired directly after the purchase of the Fernald. In a Sept. 20 interview with The Justice, Parcival said he was unable to begin working until nearly five years later due to a delay in greenlighting his contract and that the property was already in bad shape by the time he and his team were able to start…