Andover Newton Theological School in Newton Centre has announced plans to scale down its operations and relocate, the Boston Globe reports.
Andover Newton Theological School to close Newton campus
by Village 14 | Nov 12, 2015 | Newton | 22 comments
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Gonna make Austin Street look like a picnic.
Wow. I wonder if BC is going to try and purchase it. That is huge news.
Right enough. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what that little hilltop kingdom is worth? I can only imagine the scrum that’s about to break out.
I would love for it to stay as a campus.
Then you should purchase it and keep it a campus.
Elmo…ouch. And to think I always thought of you as a loveable Sesame Street character…
All I’m saying is that I like it as is. I’d rather have BC purchase this than the woods.
Do we know if there are any restrictions on the land?
Very interesting news.
I propose a Newton Community Center. . . . with an indoor pool, weight room, exercise room, senior center, gathering spaces for the whole city to enjoy.
I hear friends talk about their great spaces in the mid west, and realize that while we have a great library, we have no indoor pool, play space etc.
Or a new school???? I prefer a Community Center.
This is sad on top of Miskhan Tefillah closing. A lot of the debate about land use is around housing or commercial business. But when I moved to Newton one of things I liked is that it was a city with its own hospital, museum, seminaries, private schools, etc. How do we preserve space for these type of educational/religious/nonprofit uses? When the market pressure would doubtless be to make the land more valuable to be subdivided into housing (which is important too). (Even in the case of BC, I see Newton as being more a site for overflow undergrad housing and overflow parking and not having the same ties with the community that ANTS and Miskhan Tefillah had.)
I also worry that it puts Hebrew College (where I have been talking classes) in jeopardy. Between enrolling some of their students for interfaith programs to Jewish groups renting ANTS space to just how the traffic flow up there works they benefit from having ANTS as a neighbor. I don’t think they have the money (or need, really) to buy the whole campus but it would be good if they kept some option to expand rather than getting hemmed in by condos.
Maybe Mishkan Tefillah will just buy one of the chapels at ANTS and have an instant smaller synagogue. Well, I can dream, and of a train on Needham Street. Now off to work so I can afford to pay the mortgage here…
How about a new Middle School and a New Newton East High School. About the time it will take to get them open they will fill with all the kids from all of the mayors new units of housing that will be coming along.
Isn’t this land right at the top of the hill from the Newton Center T station? Perfect location for housing.
@Amy great point. And it’s close to the T which is even more convenient than the commuter rail.
Good to know our alders are thinking.
Newton cannot afford the purchase. The tax classification http://www.newtonma.gov/civicax/filebank/documents/69991 shows us to be capped to the limit, the shift limiting expansion, the debt service transitioned to operational budgeting (recent change), Angier, Zervas, Aquinas, the mayor unfortunately declining on Mishkin, tax levy base requiring feeding of exemptive ‘new growth’ produces addictive dominance for more property turnover to higher end developers; yet the mayor continues to ally himself to sweetheart deals such as Austin. Things are not just fine in Newton, heretic politics of the wealthy pledging for more urbanized attainable housing; a smokescreen of left liberals feeling good about token charity with which to justify the need for their own existence, controlled and opportunistically engaged by the Women of the Golden Circle.
Amy and Emily,
Now you are onto something. Get the mayor to propose a high density, high rise housing complex with his 800 units of affordable units (3200 total – think China ). Restrict automobiles,.. Car free zone. Require the developer to build a new 500 seat elementary school ( this would be a place for milenials not so many kids – right Jake ? ). After the 5 year developer change of ownership, require that the REIT build a new middle school and then with all the increased tax revenues the city can do a major addition to Newton North. Newto Centre commercial activity will get a major infusion of new economic life and the rest of the city can relax with the knowledge that their villages will not be assaulted with 40b’s !
I’m all for the city purchasing property it can afford, but this one appears to be too expensive for the city right now. In the article, ANTS is clear that they’re in a financial bind at some level and will probably look for the highest bidder.
This is the fourth piece of property with a religious base to sell in a relatively short period of time (SPN in 2012, Mishkin Tefila and Aquinas this year), and there may be others in the future. I’ve heard third hand of another congregation in the city that’s closing.
Just back from a head-clearing walk around Andover Newton. It really is the peaceable kingdom hidden away up there, a classic New England college campus in miniature with hilly views that always take me by surprise. Although this is entirely self-serving, if change has to come, I’d like to see the place become what is euphemistically known as an “adult community.” (No shortage of rising “adults” among us baby boomers.) That would increase the supply of housing for younger families, too, not as a primary effect but as a secondary one as empty nests go on the market all over Newton, spreading out the impact of incoming students. And retirees are around during the day to patronize local businesses, unlike younger couples, locked up in downtown offices all day and half the night to pay the mortgage on the $1.5M Colonial they just bought. There’d have to be some sort of jitney down to Union Street, though. That’s a pretty steep uphill climb, with hazardous passage around construction sites as mansionization proceeds on Herrick Road.
I couldn’t let this one go without commenting.
Amy and Emily, I can’t tell if you were being sarcastic, making a statement that no one in Newton Centre would allow housing like that, or if you serious and would like some housing in that location.
I’m going to guess that it was some combination of the first two. Am I wrong? Not that I’m be upset if you suddenly were ok with larger housing projects near village centers. But that haven’t been your sweet spot…
Care to let me in on the joke?
Fig, glad you brought this up. This isn’t the first time this neighborhood has had ANTS sell off land for development. Last time it happened, although no one was happy to see the loss of open space, I seem to recall a proposal for a 40B development which was actually embraced by some in the neighborhood. Instead, we got townhouses with some token allocation of affordable housing. That quickly turned into a lump sum payment for open housing and luxury housing in a somewhat gated community. As the developer’s attorney put it, lower income folks could not afford to hire someone to do housekeeping for units that size…
@Adam: Which development proposal are you talking about? The terraces? If so, I think I was the only one on the Board at the time that voted against it. I was in favor of the 40B project.
@Fig: Actually I am serious. Even mentioned some ideas to one of our esteemed land use attorneys.
@amysangiolo: yup, the Terraces.
Amy, glad you were serious. I’d be fine with housing there as well. I’m not familiar with the Terraces Adam.
There should be some way to combine more density in that location without losing all of the locations charm.
It does seem like it will end up being a 40B project, barring BC getting involved.