After years of consideration, the proposed mixed use project at 28 Austin Street goes before Newton’s Board of Aldermen Tuesday night for a final vote. That means all the back-and-forth debating between ourselves doesn’t matter any more.
All that matters are the views of 24 or fewer alders who will vote tomorrow. (It will take 16 “yes” votes to approve the project, no matter what the attendance is.)
So take your best final shot. Use this thread to tell Newton’s aldermen how you would like them to vote tomorrow and why.
Dear Aldermen, vote as you see fit. I only ask for two modest things going forward.
For Austin Street, you believed wildly low estimates of per student cost. You did not question the analysis at all! Before we talk about another development, let’s use a correct, accepted methodology for estimating costs. Austin Street will be a financial burden on the city–this if fine if we accept it walking into the decision. Figuring out the real cost after the fact is not fine.
Second, let’s do a better job involving the public in discussion from day one. The Austin Street project came out of the gate as mixed use. We never had the chance to consider full commercial or full residential. Don’t make 80% of the decision and pretend that the public had input.
I’ve followed this project since the land was surplussed in 2007 (?). Yes, it was always going to be mixed use and it was publicly stated as such at that point. The time to push for it to be something other than a mixed use development was 7 years ago. The good news is that public input has made this an exemplary development, far superior to the initial proposal. Residents should feel great about that.
You don’t get everything you want. No one does. Such is life.
I hope that the Aldermen vote Yes tomorrow evening.
Check out http://www.cm-h.com for a look see as to what you might expect to see at Austin Street. As you see it’s all about the cost of land, and at $1,000,000 for 68 units ( $14,700 ) per unit, the developer and his supporters are getting a real deal. You just stack them up in a big pile.
The 2 bedroom unit is only $44,000 and the 1 bedroom goes for $34,000. Just think how economic it might be to build these projects in every village center. A good business opportunity too.
On balance, I’ve been in favor of this project. And i live a stone’s throw from it.
With this most recent enhancement, to me, and I suspect to a lot of others, it is difficult to imagine this overall project is so bad as to forego this opportunity to make progress in this affordable housing slice.
I encourage all 24 aldermen to vote YES on this project. I support the development because:
— it has 17 affordable housing units (25% of the total units); Newton’s affordable housing waiting list is years long, and more affordable housing is needed to help keep our city economically diverse
— it will provide a moderate increase in density that will improve business conditions in Newtonville’s village center, since the present state of high rents and low foot traffic creates extremely challenging conditions for our small businesses
— it is transit-oriented…in other words, environmentally beneficial housing that is in great demand in this region
— it will retain 127 parking spaces and provide an attractive plaza that will benefit local businesses
— it will be a highly energy-efficient, LEED-certifiable building
— it is supported by a broad coalition of civic organizations and respected community leaders (scroll down for the supporters)
— the proposal has been two years in the making, and has been scaled back and revised in response to community concerns
oops, sorry, I just cut and pasted from an email I wrote yesterday, and neglected to update the facts…that the project now has 23 affordable units, 33% of the total.
As many of you know, I’m supporting the Austin Street project and hope it will move forward. For me, it is really quite simple.
We are going to take a somewhat unsightly parking lot and replace it with a more attractive building with housing, retail, and the same number of parking spaces. It will provide more housing and shopping in our city center, near public transportation, and have significant housing for people that would have trouble affording to live in Newton otherwise.
This is both good for our city’s long term goals and is the right thing to do at a time when Massachusetts needs more communities like ours to step up and help address a serious shortage of housing statewide.
So much digital ink has been spilled on the reasons already.
Please vote Yes!
Vote yes. don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. This isn’t a perfect project. But it is a good one. And combined with the promised changes to Newtonville from the funds, this is the right thing for our village. I live close to the project and I strongly support it.
Bryan / Rhanna
According to this document from the Friday packet http://www.newtonma.gov/civicax/filebank/documents/70568
Its states 124 public parking spaces…. So it certainly is not the “same number of parking spaces” and it will not “retain 127 parking spaces”. The devil is in the detail – and that city charter is an important document too!
As someone whose entree into Newton 14 yrs ago was via an apartment rental (the complex across from the Marriott), my support for the Austin St. project is partly based on personal experience. I believe it will help keep the door open to early career people, like we were, relocating to the Boston area. The rental gave us a foot in Newton’s door from which we managed to find a house a few years later and become fully invested in this community. Our own experience makes me want the same opportunity to be here for others.
The project’s substantial affordable housing component welcomes a diverse mix of people varying in age, jobs, income and family situation. And it allows Newton to reduce car dependency by contributing to a walkable, bikeable village center near transit. Residents will be able to walk to Star Market, George Howell Cafe, and village restaurants, freeing up parking for those who don’t have good alternatives to driving.
I am hopeful that the late breaking increase in six more affordable units is enough to tip the balance for some of our aldermen who are such strong advocates for affordable housing that they had held out on their support until now. They can consider this concession to be a victory for their principled position, and I urge them and all our aldermen to vote yes tomorrow.
na·ive·té still runs rampant in the art of the negotiation process. WotGC please do not give away our village centers..
I believe that this is a good project, made even better with the addition of more affordable units. Those who lament the so-called “loss” of the parking lot forget that the most vibrant and alluring retail left this village already (book store, pet store, gift store, asian market, etc, etc). This commercial district needs revitalization, and ASP has designed a project that will succeed. Please, aldermen, I urge you to vote yes.
Dear Aldermen:
I’m guessing you may be in for a long night. Please take a few moments before that to enjoy this video.
As I hope it will remind you, Newton has always been subject to change. It’s a necessary part of any great community’s evolution.
The project at 28 Austin Street represents a good change. It will bring new customers and vitality into Newtonville – something that is desperately needed in an age when competition from the internet and malls is accelerating yearly.
It will provide desperately needed rental units — especially now that one-out-of-every-three units will be affordable — to provide housing for Newton workers, millennials and seniors. And transit oriented projects like this are essential to begin addresses the need to reduce gridlock and our carbon footprint.
A yes vote is a vote for Newton’s future. A no vote is a vote for a parking lot.
Thanks for your careful consideration.
Newton’s “future” will be fine if ASP development is not built. (though Setti’s political future may have a set back)
There has been years of debate, lots of compromise, and things about this project that either side can find objectionable (too many people/cars! Still not enough affordable housing! We hate the $$ deal!) – but there is also a lot of good- the bomb-crater of a parking lot is being replaced; density, if you want it all, is going where it belongs- in a village center – there is an affordable housing component that has only been increased in time as the scope of the project scaled back.
I’m for voting yes (and then paying close attention to minimizing the temporary construction disruption, as the existing businesses deserve to reap the benefits of 68 units of built-in customers in a walkable village center).
Please vote NO on the project.
1. Surplussing the land was wrong in the first place. We should have learned our lesson by now.
2. Newtonville is NOT transit centric. Transit is poor, getting worse, not better, and there is no commitment by either the developers, the City, or the MBTA to change that.
3. The project is NOT backed by a master plan – rather, the planning department has invented one plan, after another, to justify a bad project.
4. Spot zoning is illegal, and will likely get ruled against if someone brings suit.
5. The project will impose undue costs in terms of traffic, lost parking, new infrastructure requirements, etc.
6. No amount of tinkering at the edges is going to turn a fundamentally flawed concept into a good one.
7. We’ll regret it later.
Miles Fidelman, 130 Austin Street
My letter to the BOA
Please vote YES on the Austin Street Development Plan. A thriving community relies on citizen engagement. So much of the fabulous work done in the city is done by volunteers through great groups like Green Newton, League of Women Voters, The Council on Aging, the Transportation Advisory Group and Fair Housing Committee to name a few. These organizations all support the Austin St. plan and have urged the city to go forward. As a fellow volunteer and Austin St. supporter I know that I will be very disheartened if this fails to pass. Please ignore the negative voices that may be loud but their comments prove they are not interested in a a better Newton. They think Newton is just fine. Newton must adapt to our changing world or suffer it. We must be part of the solutions to the housing crisis, the aging population in Newton, and climate change. Please listen to the residents who support a strong, vibrant, inclusive, BETTER Newton. The residents that have given their expertise, time, heart and soul to working for a better Newton. I would hate to think of Newton with those voices quieted.
what happens in the ville, remains with the ville. Women of the Golden Circle. please hold the door open for Hizzoner.
Alicia,
Newton is gorgeous and perfect the way it is, actually. It is one of the most beautiful cities I have even seen in the US. Just because some people do not want ASP development, it does not mean they are not “interested” in a better Newton. Maybe, they are not interested in YOUR version-
How can people interested in a better Newton also think it’s perfect just the way it is?
Adam,
Newton is perfectly beautiful. We could always improve what we have. We could use better roads (potholes all over), empty stores filled (lots of empty stores on Needham Street and some in Newton Centre), improved access to Crystal Lake, less traffic, safer bike routes and walking capability, better recycling. You have your causes and I and others have theirs. Just because they aren’t the same, it does not mean my causes won’t “make Newton better” and yours will or vice versa.
It is very typical in Newton to have your opinions vilified because you don’t agree with certain groups. Posters above are suggesting that because someone might not prefer the ASP development, they are “for” parking lots or suppressing Newton’s future or not wanting to improve the city. Silly.
p.s. I don’t care one way or the other about Austin Street.
Yes. Keep the community space in the plan, though, and live up to sprucing up the rest of the village center. Most especially, amp up the pressure on the MBTA to make taking the train a more viable option for people who live nearby.
It cost so much more to live here and to move here from other parts of the country. But the jobs are here, so we will continue to come to Newton. We need good place to rent, close enough to commute to Cambridge and Boston, with good schools.
Location, location, location.
From a neighbor and frequent customer of Newtonville businesses, who will undoubtedly have cars parked on her narrow street throughout the construction.
We are lucky to live here and I have always thought of Newton as a generous community. In this case, generosity would mean opening our doors to people who need homes. Voting down this project in favor of parking goes against everything I have always thought Newton was about. A yes vote would be beneficial to the environment, it would be forward-thinking, and it would provide needed rental housing. A no vote would keep parking spots.
Please vote yes and show that our priorities are people, not cars.
Dear Aldercritters please vote yes on the special permit tonight. Thanks for all of your hard work regardless.
But please follow up closely to see that all conditions are met, that the million is spent on Newtonville Center, not on the development site, along with the plan on the table to widen sidewalks, etc. on Walnut Street, that the 20 spaces in the Star lot and 50 spaces on site are actually provided along with the free parking at the Aquinas lot with aid to employees coming and going after and before shuttle hours during construction, that the businesses receive the mitigation money, that the 33 affordable units are there, that the plaza is accessible and usable, that there is a garden and solar panels on the roof, that the shared office space can be used at times free of charge for community meetings, etc. and that the parking is designed to function well.
I will always wish that the design wasn’t just like all the others going up in the region because I know that it’s quite possible to build a LEED certified building that is designed to look like older buildings in Newtonville. I would have loved to have a building like the one in the Newtonville picture from the 40s on the corner of Walnut and Austin where the Star lot is now that Chuck posted or the similar one that was about a block down that resembled the Mason’s building when model Ts were on the street like in one of the pictures from the Historical Society. But I really want those affordable apartments and am OK with the market rate ones too. I hope it does what’s intended.
I would love to know why Brian Shaw of Craft Beer Cellar decided to support the project – what tipped for him to change his mind and if other businesses from the petition changed their minds too and why.
I sent the following email to the board today:
—————————————
I apologize for writing at the last minute but please add me to the list of people who are asking you to vote in support of the Austin Street project.
I have been asking myself for the past few days why I have begun to care so much about what happens with this project. I thought, at first, it was because I know there’s a shortage of available housing for seniors looking to downsize, and as an empty-nester who recently moved my mother out of her two-story colonial into single-floor living, I’m already aware that my options for downsizing in Newton are limited. I lived in three different apartments in Newtonville in the first seven years I lived in this city, and I’ve always felt an affinity for the village. I would love to return some day to a smaller residence.
But now, as I’ve watched the debate and I’ve read and heard the different points of view about the project, I realize that my passion is coming from a different place. It’s far more central to what I believe Newton to be. I feel so lucky to live in this city with all it has to offer, and when I feel fortunate, my instinct is to share, not to protect.
I know most of you to be good people (I’d say all but I don’t know all of you!). And I’m having a difficult time understanding why good people would turn down a project that would welcome people who need homes to the city we’re all so proud of. I understand the project isn’t perfect but you’re all smart enough to know that the next proposal — if there is one — is going to be flawed too. Furthermore, I fear that voting down this project will make the next one that much harder to pass.
From where I sit, it’s simple, but I’m not the one who has to vote. Still, I don’t want to live in a community that turns away people who want to live here. I think Newton residents are better people than that.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my thoughts.
At Soccer mommy. I am a soccer mom myself although I have no problem using my real name to put behind my quotes. I would love all the things you want too. Filled store fronts (businesses need more customers which they can get if people live close or can walk or bike) less traffic better streets. These Need more money from the city which voters have been reluctant to vote for in terms of overrides so the mayor is working to attract more businesses. But the main point of the development is to address the very real problem of our housing crisis. We do not have enough housing and enough of the right kind of housing. As a region we should want this housing built where there is access to services within a close distance as this means less driving everywhere. Newtonville is a great place to start in Newton. newton Centre is another great location.