While Clark’s Shoes on Oak Street recently announced plans to move to Waltham, the Boston Business Journal is reporting today that Rockport shoes is moving its headquarters to a 70,000-square-foot office at 1210-1220 Washington Street in West Newton.
Newton switching shoes: Clarks may be leaving but Rockport is coming
by Greg Reibman | Dec 4, 2015 | Newton | 32 comments
BTW, I know that Mayor Warren was personally involved in making this happen. He’s often criticized for looking outside our city limits but it can pay off and in this case has.
Wasn’t Clark Shoes previously at this location? Before they went to Lower Falls?
Maybe they’ll see fit to allow some evening parking in the attached parking garage, unlike the current tenants.
Is not Design Continuum still at this address ( 1220 Washington St) ? When I designed their leasehold improvements back in the mid 90s they had approx 100 employees and occupied a goodly portion of this building – almost the entire 2nd floor . They certainly haven’t gotten smaller since. ?
Thanks for posting, Greg.
The Mayor, the aldermen from the ward, planning director, James Freas, and economic development director, Nancy Hyde, were all very much involved in the process of attracting Rockport Shoes to West Newton and we are all very excited about it. West Newton was in a fierce competition with Boston Properties, which was trying to get Rockport to relocate to the old Polaroid site in Waltham where it is building new headquarters for Clark’s Shoes. Continuum has decided to move to Boston and Rockport has been negotiating a buyout of Continuum’s lease for the past several months. Rockport will be redesigning both the interior and exterior space before it moves in some time next year.
I am told that Rockport Shoes’ CEO very much liked the of the location and the neighborhood because of the restaurants, cafes, shops, and other amenities, as well as easy access to public transit (local and express buses and commuter rail) and the MassPike via Exit 16. The businesses in West Newton Square that I have talked to are also very excited about welcoming Rockport Shoes to the neighborhood, and the vibrancy and vitality it will add to the area.
Currently, I am working with the economic development director, the planning department and West Newton businesses on developing a map which will show business locations and where public parking is available (metered as well as free), which is very similar to the map of Newton Corner that was developed for the Newton Corner Innovation Center. Local businesses can post the map in their windows and on their website and distribute copies to customers as well as other local businesses, like Rockport Shoes, so that their employees can take advantage of all that West Newton has to offer. Afkham Salie at L’Aroma had approached me about it and he tells me that other businesses in the square are very excited about it.
@Doug, we are looking forward to renewed discussion about shared parking arrangements with various private lot and garage owners, including this building which was the site of the old Mayflower Furniture Co., during off peak hours, evenings and weekends. West Newton has been suffering from a parking crunch because of the closure to commuters of the St. Bernard-Corpus Christi lot on Washington Street (although the DOT parking lots are now getting more use than at any time since they raised the fees to $4 a day), and because the parking ticket clerk relocated to the West Newton Police Annex and took 4-5 spaces 1 hour spaces and turned them into 15 minute parking for people paying their tickets. (That will come up for discussion at Traffic Council after the New Year.)
Free parking for those paying parking tickets. I love the irony!
Well, the 15 minute parking is for people who are paying their tickets or purchasing parking permits so the city gets some revenue out of it.
Great economic news for the city.
@Ted- Could you please be more specific on what financial or other incentives or accommodations were used in the process of attracting Rockport?
Clearly they were the right ones and Newton is lucky to have such a fine business moving in.
@Charlie: Location, location, location.
Wonder how happy the folks at The Barn are about this.
The Barn has been an institution in West Newton and it will be a shame if this big retail giant crushes them.
@ TheWholeTruth I doubt there is a retail component to this so The Barn should be fine…its just corporate like marketing or design etc. that seems to be moving here…could be wrong though…
Greg,
Are you serious??? If anything it proves the mayor doesn’t have to go all the way to israel to import business’s, there’s plenty of business’s that are looking for a home headquarters right in massachusetts.
@TheWholeTruth: This is their corporate office, not a retail operation. And coincidence or not, there’s an ad for the Barn in the TAB this week saying they’re having a Rockport promotion at their store this Saturday, with a representative from the company in attendance. I’m pretty confident Rockport appreciates the Barn as much as the rest of us do.
@Alderman Hess-Mahan: My apologies for neglecting to mention that you and your Ward 3 colleagues were also involved in making this happen. I was aware that you’d been involved and failed to mention it. My bad.
@Tom: No, not kidding. One business is not “plenty of businesses.” We still have plenty of other vacant or under utilized properties in this city.
@Ted- – – – No, not location. Rockport has very smart people that know Newton is an excellent place to locate.
I was asking specifically what financial or other incentives or accommodations (if any) were used in the process of attracting them? For example….tax incentives, changes in zoning to allow parking, etc, etc.
This is something to be proud of and it’s worth getting a clearer sense of what actual role city representatives had in providing something that would not have existed otherwise.
Or, perhaps it was something as simple as the city learning that Clarks was leaving newton and the building was going to be vacant and someone picked up the phone to tell Rockport. If so, whoever that was deserves credit.
Greg,
You’re so willing to give him all the credit when something good comes our way, what about giving him the blame for Clark leaving or giving him the blame for all of those underutilized buildings you speak of.
The time he spends on foreign soil or other states he could be spending recruiting other business’s for the city. Instead, he’s on his own agenda. If you can’t see that, there’s not much to talk about.
I just want to say, that I don’t know the real reason why those buildings are underutilized, I was just making a point about Greg and the Mayor
Actually, those buildings are underutilized probably because of our reputation by business’s to be difficult to deal with and the Mayor being on the road all the time probably doesn’t help that. Sorry for the triple post
Ted, you keep mentioning how the closing of the Corpus Christi-St. Bernard parking lot to commuters has led to a “parking crunch” in West Newton – can you explain this? Are commuters who used to park in the church lot now parking on Washington St and other areas in the business district? How is this possible if these areas are time-restricted? And why are we worried about a parking crunch in West Newton (and its potential impact on local businesses), but not in Newtonville? (Put down the pitchforks – I don’t love the project but I support mixed-use development of the Austin St. lot that retains public parking. But it seems like a contradiction. Especially when there’s also talk of a large mixed-use development on the DOT property in West Newton. Driving through West Newton during the morning and evening commute is like the seventh circle of hell now. What happened to all those traffic light improvements that were coming to West Newton and Auburndale Square in 2015?)
@Greg, thanks for the info. I did not realize this was office space only. Glad to know The Barn is safe!
– of paying parking tickets, the annex does not take cash (Jeanne Sweeney Mooney implications?). Sitting in on a finance sub committee meeting, Wilkinson & Reardon stated that IRS code requires the acceptance of cash payment for municipal revenue…
Charlie, read the article in the BBJ. Rockport’s CEO liked the neighborhood and the building and its easy access to public transit and the MassPike. Rockport also like all the cafes, restaurants, shops, health clubs, bicycle stores, cinema and other amenities West Newton square has to offer–which IMHO are far superior to what is available at the former Polaroid site in Waltham. There was already plenty of parking available in the private garage onsite. It really did come down to the combination of a former mill building in a vibrant village that has a lot to offer the employees within walking distance. No tax breaks or other financial incentives were offered, only support from the aldermen for obtaining a permit to get a sign that faces the MassPike. Rockport certainly had questions about property taxes, but it was not offered any special breaks. (I have the letter the city sent to Rockport summarizing their discussions, which outlines all of the reasons to come to West Newton. I cannot post it but maybe Greg Reibman can).
Tricia, we are working with the local businesses and the city on traffic and parking management. The city has undertaken a transportation study that should lead to plans and policies that will benefit not just West Newton, but also Newtonville and other villages. There have been some improvements to the timing of the traffic lights (I travel through the square at rush hour twice a day and I notice the difference) but there is more comprehensive planning that needs to be done. The elimination of toll booths and addition of automatic toll collectors should also help the backup created by the MassPike. The beauty of a mixed use project inside the offramp in West Newton is that it would preserve the T parking and provide parking for residential tenants AND subsidize the cost of building a fully accessible train/bus station.
The closure of the CCSB parking lot has exacerbated the problem of commuters (many from outside Newton) who park in West Newton square to catch the express bus or train. They were already parking onstreet in unrestricted areas in the neighborhood around the square. Thankfully, most appear to have started using the DOT parking lots again, which costs just $4 a day. I don’t know for sure, but I would also suspect that many are simply catching the T someplace else, so the impact has not been as great as I think we all feared. Again, eliminating the Weston tolls and replacing them with automatic toll collectors will improve the traffic and parking crunch in West Newton too.
TWT, as Greg said, Rockport is relocating its HQ not its retail operations. This will not hurt the Barn or Barn for Kids at all.
Greg, no apology needed. This was a group effort and there are a lot of folks to thank. I am just happy Rockport chose my village to relocate. (BTW, I am a mens’ size 10 if you are looking for gift ideas!)
Is this really the big deal that everybody is making it out to be ? It’s not like the building has been lying dormant for decades. As Ted has mentioned Design Continuum’s lease is being bought out and they are moving back to Boston. Having occupied at least half of the building for a couple of decades one wonders just blemish effort was made to keep them in Newton.?
There’s a lot of chest beating here. ? Warranted ?
” just how much effort …”
Six blog posts by 4 people is a big deal?
@Blueprintbill, way to find the dark cloud behind the silver lining. It reminds me of a quote from LBJ: “If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read ‘President Can’t Swim.'” This is a good thing for the city and for West Newton. Nothing you say can harsh my mellow.
@Ted-
I read the article and thanks for your summary. I look forward to reading the letter.
Newton is a fantastic place to locate a business. Rockport is a great national/international brand, and I’m thrilled to have them and the 200 projected jobs based right here in Newton. This is 100% good.
It’s a private real estate transaction that strongly benefits the city and especially the small businesses in the village. Of course, with no tax credits or other special incentives, Greg probably should have kept his mayoral cheerleading pom-poms in the closet. 🙂
Oscar Wilde said that a cynic was “a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” My understanding is that Boston Properties was offering incentives to Rockport to sweeten its offer to build new headquarters in Waltham. But Rockport chose Newton. Did the city’s efforts to market itself to Rockport close the deal? I have no idea. But to say that financial incentives are the only way to attract great companies just doesn’t ring true to me.
@Ted- Agreed. There are many types of incentives and/or accommodations. If the Mayor personally caused the deal to happen (as Greg specifically stated), he deserves the credit. If not, he doesn’t. Simple as that. Give credit only where it is due – not for political purposes. Since you keep track of damn near everything, chance are if you’re not aware of it, odds are it didn’t happen.
Charlie, I’d like to think that the collaboration of the Mayor, his staff and the aldermen helped tip the scales. I am way too modest to take any credit for myself ;-), but I am grateful for everyone’s efforts to get Rockport Shoes to come to my village.
Great news – both Rockport coming and the Barn not effected. When I first saw the headline in the business journal, my mind went straight to – oh no, is that the Barn property.
Hopefully the shared parking will work out. I think West Newton definitely has a parking problem. Walking up hill from the small lot to the stores, etc. is hard for me so I try to limit my trips to off hours when the bank allows parking. West Newton is one of my favorite places to go.
@Ted- I think we’d all like to think that 😉
And I would like to think that it was my sparkling personality and Irish charm. 😉