Crumbling remains of Grafton State Hospital revealed as 8 Pine Street project begins

Former Grafton State Hospital buildings hidden in the woods for decades were recently bared to the public eye as GSX Ventures preps the site for the mixed-use Village at Grafton Woods.

The buildings were just a small piece of the former farm colony, which treated “chronic insane patients” from 1901 until 1973, when it was the first to be shuttered under the state’s “deinstitutionalization” process. 

At its height, Grafton State Hospital housed 6,410 patients. Among the most notable: noted jazz musician Thelonious Monk was briefly held for observation at the Grafton State Hospital in 1957 after a State Trooper found him at Logan Airport acting erratically and then becoming unresponsive to questioning.

In the late 1970s, Tufts University acquired the bulk of the former grounds to establish what is now the Cummings School for Veterinary Medicine, rehabbing many of the former hospital buildings. Other buildings were rehabbed for the Grafton Job Corps.

The 8-acre parcel at 8 Pine Street was awarded by the town in June 2020 for $1,725,000 to GSX Ventures to construct a transit-oriented village, taking advantage of its location across the street from the MBTA Commuter Rail station. Construction is expected to start in October.

The complex will have 317 apartment units in a 325,190 square-foot four-story building and a 11,340 square foot footprint, two-story retail village. Developers have said they hope to bring in locally owned restaurants and shops that would meet the needs of commuters, as well as national chains. Twenty-five percent of the housing units, or a total of 79 units, will be restricted as affordable housing for income-eligible tenants.

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