WGBH’s radio’s Edgar B. Herwick III explores this history behind what was once called “the supermarket of the space age” in one of his Curiosity Desk segments.
Crazy Divers: Men be like...
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Interesting – thanks for posting this.
Cool! At first I thought the old Star Market was next to the Masons building, judging by the photo. But I looked it up on Digital Commonwealth and learned that it was actually on the opposite side of the street, just over the bridge. Always good to learn something new about my adopted hometown!
The air-rights over the Pike represent the largest undeveloped, buildable site in Newton. It’s a nearly untapped gold mine of commercial property taxes that could, if built-out in a thoughtful and comprehensive way, dramatically lower the residential tax burden in Newton. The hurdle is not the cost of the platforms, but rather the complete lack of clarity surrounding the permitting and approval process. The next Mayor of Newton should appoint an air-rights “Czar,” and give that person the authority to bring potential players together and develop a plan to move forward.
Mike Striar,
It is a gold mine, but is there demand? How is the demand for the current existing commercial area? N2 was supposed to attract tech/bio, but everyone is heading to Cambridge
If the public transportation into Newton was more robust (shuttles into Newton, more frequent commuter rail, a faster T service), there would be a better chance companies choose Newton as an alternative to Cambridge….
The only demand visible is for ‘luxury housing’ as everyone wants to come here for the schools and the open space…
Mike, the hurdle is the cost of the platforms, combine with the cost to build over an active highway, combined with the cost to build over the railway, combined with lack of demand, combined with lack of political will, combined with intense fear of NIMBYism. There is a lot of information now out there about ROI on air rights parcels, and many failed or delayed projects in Boston, even those that actually had terra firma on each side to build intial load bearing structures on.
Is it doable? Of course. But folks are freaking out about Austin Street (which for all the Sturm und Drang kept a parking lot largely intact, was only 4-5 stories, and still took over a decade to come to construction), imagine how they will feel with a few 12 story hotels over the pike in our area. Or 8 story office buildings. Or more likely, 8 story apartment buildings. And even if you get the land for free (due to free air rights, which won’t happen) you need to build big to counteract the other costs.
@Dave Brigham. The first Star Market I can remember was located on the first floor of the Masonic Building and the store had a brisk delivery service because World War II was still going on and a lot of people didn’t have cars or enough ration coupons for gasoline. I first saw the current Star Market when I was returning from the Navy in 1965. I was driving a 59 Volkswagen Beetle and was totally freaked out when I saw the current market towering above the highway. It wasn’t so much the building itself, but the fact that nobody in my family told me the Mass Pike was now running from 128 into Boston.
Great stories, Bob!
@fig– We’ve had this discussion a few times before. You’re obviously entitled to your opinion. It’s clearly an educated opinion, and I have nothing but respect for you. But I am concerned about what other readers take away from this debate…
Air-rights are certainly not a slam dunk. I do want to point out though, that while you raise many of the hurdles involved in the process, your comments acknowledge not only the physical possibility of air-rights development, but the financial feasibility of such, providing the buildings are eight stories or more… just like the existing Crowne Plaza Hotel and Gateway Center. That’s why I believe this is worth pursuing, and feel strongly that the next mayor of Newton should appoint an air-rights Czar to flesh-out the possibilities.
As a construction scheduler my preference would be to run as far as possible from any job that involves building over the pike. As, I hope, a good construction scheduler working for a firm bidding on some of those projects downtown (and let me note that it takes a huge campus and the property values of downtown to make it worth it) there may come a day…
Mike, I sincerely hope in my lifetime they build over the Pike. I’d love that, and I’d even support taller buildings to get it done. There is a logical way to do it, with multiple parcels combining with some degree of green space (Newtonville could get a village common for instance), but it really does have to go tall to work. And air rights developments are difficult stuff, even if we disregard the numbers.
We can’t even agree on a simple 5 story building in Newton. Although at least there wouldn’t be too many abutters…. ;-)
Really the party you should be focusing on is the company that now owns the Star Market. They own a large parcel, bordering a major highway, with air rights already in place over a portion, in a market with strong rents. The supermarket needs a major overhaul at some point. You could certainly make it look a lot more like the supermarket in Chestnut Hill, and then build apartments above it. But my guess is that they’d just build above the parking lot. I think the combination of Austin Street, Star Market apartments and Orr Block would provide a very active customer base for a village center, but it would certainly be a change.
As for the air rights czar, sure, why not? You wore me down.
@Anne– I genuinely appreciate the reality check from someone so intricately involved in the process of construction. Beyond my respect for the practicality of your comment, I value your pragmatism particularly highly. Specifically, your acknowledgement that “there may come a day,” [presumably, when further cultivation of Newton’s air-rights becomes even more financially feasible]. We know that “day” existed in the past, because we have two examples to remind us, Star Market and Crowne Plaza.
I think the scarcity of developable real estate and its’ increasing value, make it highly likely we’ll see more of Newton’s air-rights developed in the future. So the question[s] is what & when? I believe it’s indisputable that a substantial enough project would make air-rights development feasible today. My principal point is that we should start exploring the possibilities and defining the process now, because the future has a way of getting here faster than we anticipate.
@fig– I know we would both be happy to see a good project built on Newton’s air-rights. I hope we both live long enough to see that happen. I aways enjoy discussing this topic with you.
Solar panels over the pike could make 5-10% of Newton households carbon-free with inexpensive structural support (like the toll gantries) & pedestrian crossings as a side benefit.
Mike, thank you :)
One thing to note – the pike from 128 to Boston was constructed between 1962 and 1964, with the first traffic traveling on it in February 1965. The Over-The-Pike Star opened in 1963. This building was build concurrently with the pike, without having to consider the traffic disruptions. (Similarly, the Prudential was constructed 1960-64)
Building on a raised foundation is irritating, but overall not out-of-the norm for how buildings go. (The proposed tower at South Station will have no direct connection to the ground, resting on a series of “mega-arches” – as worries about climate change/rising water levels begin to influence building design, this sort of thing is getting more common)
However, building over an active freeway is another story altogether. Now you have restricted hours (nights). Little to no space around your foundations, and at least some of that has to be restored to “usable condition” by morning. Construction Mitigation for Days (It’s not a good idea to drop something on a site, but it happens, and it falls into the dirt/lot/pavement. No harm, no foul. If it happens over the Pike …. Even something small like a bolt or concrete shard could go right through a windshield). So much liability insurance. Best case scenario, at least one lane of the Pike closed for the year+ it would take to get the foundations in and “get out of the ground.”
Or we could just shut the pike down for two years and deck the sucker. We could probably save $800/SF that way. And I’m sure the outer ‘burbs would forgive us eventually. ;)
Anne, thanks for the great posts…
Since we’ve been celebrating JFK’s 100th birthday, I’m going to steal just a bit of his inspiration to help articulate my thoughts… “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” Coincidentally, Kennedy spoke those words as the Massachusetts Turnpike was under construction. Now, more than a half century later, Newton like most municipalities faces a tough financial future. So the difficulty of the task [cultivation of air-rights] must be a factor fully considered. But we must also contemplate and weigh quite heavily, the fact that air-rights development could add enough to our tax base to completely change the municipal funding dynamic.
I want Newton to have the best public school system in the country [as we did 50 years ago]. I want the city to have superbly maintained public buildings and infrastructure. I want the people who have worked so hard for this city to have confidence that their pensions will still be there after they retire. Mostly, I want other municipalities around the country to look at Newton as the place that got it right. There are tens of million$ in annual property taxes to be had from cultivation of air-rights. I don’t want the fact that it’s hard to keep us from getting it right.