Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings

Is Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings a certified assisted living residence in Massachusetts?

Yes. Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings at 126 Smith Street, Waltham, MA 02451 is listed as Certified on the Massachusetts Executive Office of Aging & Independence (AGE) list of certified Assisted Living Residences dated June 25, 2026, and has held certification since October 16, 2000. Massachusetts certifies assisted living residences rather than licensing them, so there is no license number to look up — the state identifies each residence by name and address.

Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings is one of the longer-running residences in Middlesex County: its certification dates to 2000, the first years of the Massachusetts ALR program after the 1994 law that created it.

Check the record yourself on the mass.gov page for Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings, which also lists the unit counts, ownership flags and any posted Compliance Review Report.

What did the latest Massachusetts compliance review of Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings find?

AGE's most recent posted Compliance Review of Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings, conducted September 18, 2024, resulted in a Plan of correction required across 6 lettered finding areas, 3 of them marked as repeat findings from the prior review.

The report's findings covered the quality assurance and performance improvement (QAPI) program, resident assessments and service plans, the correspondence log used for continuity of care, staff training and supervision records and resident record keeping.

A Plan of Correction is the standard outcome of a Massachusetts compliance review: the residence answers each finding in writing and AGE grants recertification once the fixes are accepted. It is not a suspension or fine. Nearly every residence with a posted report in Greater Boston received one, so the useful comparison is which areas were cited and whether they repeat.

For context, the median posted report for a Middlesex County residence lists 6 finding areas; Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings's latest lists about the same number of.

Read the full Compliance Review Report on mass.gov →

Does Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings offer memory care in Waltham?

Yes. Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings has a certified Special Care Residence with 22 units — about 25% of its 89 certified units. In Massachusetts, memory care is delivered in a Special Care Residence (SCR) inside a certified ALR; it is not a separate license.

Statewide, the median ALR with an SCR has about 20 SCR units, so Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings's Special Care Residence is close to the statewide norm.

Where is Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings located in Waltham, MA?

Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings is at 126 Smith Street, Waltham, MA 02451, in Middlesex County. Hospitals families in Waltham commonly use include Newton-Wellesley Hospital and Mount Auburn Hospital.

Waltham sits on the Charles River and Route 128, with a walkable Moody Street downtown and a commuter-rail stop.

Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings is the only certified assisted living residence in Waltham on the current state list.

Veterans and surviving spouses can be served by the VA Boston Healthcare System (Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury and Brockton campuses) and may qualify for VA Aid & Attendance toward assisted living costs.

How does Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings compare with other assisted living in Middlesex County?

With 89 certified units, Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings is about typical in size among the 75 certified residences in Middlesex County (number 24 by unit count); the county median is 79 units.

61 of those 75 residences have Special Care Residence units, 7 report nonprofit ownership on their state profile, and 20 list low-income options.

Closest in size among Middlesex County residences, from the same state records:

How much does Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings cost per month?

Massachusetts does not publish prices for individual residences, so ask Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings for its written fee schedule. Statewide, AGE's 2025 census report puts the median monthly fee range at $4,228–$9,225 for traditional units and $7,218–$10,886 for Special Care units.

Greater Boston generally runs above those statewide medians: this site's cost research puts typical assisted living at $5,800–$8,200/mo in 2026, with Brookline, Newton, Cambridge and the Back Bay at the high end.

Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings's state profile lists low-income options — usually affordable units created under housing programs such as Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Ask how many such units exist and how long the waitlist is.

MassHealth does not pay assisted living rent. Some residences accept MassHealth Group Adult Foster Care (GAFC) or a Senior Care Options (SCO) plan for personal-care services; ask the residence directly, and see our Frail Elder Waiver guide for at-home alternatives.

What should you ask when touring Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings?

Start with the areas the state already flagged at Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings — the quality assurance and performance improvement (QAPI) program, resident assessments and service plans, the correspondence log used for continuity of care — and ask what changed after the review; then cover staffing, fees and move-out triggers.

• What has your quality-improvement committee changed in the past year?
• How often is a resident's service plan reassessed, and who attends that meeting?
• How do shift-to-shift notes reach the next caregiver and the family?
• How are new aides supervised in their first weeks, and how often are skills re-checked?
• Which care needs would require a move to a nursing home?
• How long have the executive director and resident care director been in their roles?
• Is a nurse on site every day, and who covers nights and weekends?
• What happens if a resident runs out of private funds?

Visit twice — once at a meal — and read the residency agreement before paying a deposit. Massachusetts gives ALR residents specific resident rights, and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program can help if problems come up later.

How does moving into Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings work?

Moving into Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings starts with a pre-admission screening and a written assessment of your parent's needs, which the residence uses to build an individual service plan before move-in day.

• Residency agreement and disclosures. The residence must give you its residency agreement and a disclosure of fees, services and discharge terms; take them home and compare them before paying a deposit.
• Special Care Residence admission. Admission to Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings's 22-unit Special Care Residence is based on a dementia diagnosis and an assessment that the secured setting is appropriate; ask what criteria would move a resident between its traditional and Special Care units.
• Medication plan. Decide whether your parent will self-administer, receive Self-Administered Medication Management (SAMM) help from aides, or need Limited Medication Administration (LMA) by a nurse — it affects both care and fees.
• Payment. Rent and care are almost always private pay in an ALR; long-term care insurance and VA Aid & Attendance can offset them.
• Affordable units. Ask Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings for the income limits and waitlist for its low-income units.

If Benchmark Senior Living at Waltham Crossings has no opening, ask to join its waitlist and keep touring — availability at large Greater Boston residences changes month to month.

Frequently asked questions