Now that the New England Mobile Book Fair has moved to its new home next to Marshalls on Needham Street, the building and parking lot where the Book Fair stood for decades is on the market, the Boston Business Journal reports.
The 1.46-acre lot “provides a wide spectrum of development opportunities including retail, office, lab, medical, hotel and multi-family uses,” according to a marketing brochure.
I wish they could bottle that beautiful smell of books and unfinished wooden bookshelves as you walked in the door.
I was in the new location yesterday. They’ve done a really nice job and just in time for finding that perfect beach book.
I also noticed the “For Lease” sign has been gone a few buildings down from the old NEMBF warehouse, at the former Newbury Comics building (across the lot from Dunkies, across from the rapidly progressing Nexus). That spot has been a vacant eyesore for several years now; hope someone has plans for it now.
Surely there are a plethora of nefarious Developers out there twirling their handlebar mustaches plotting new ways of using these properties to ruin, (Ruin I say!) our fair city. But wait, is it a bird? No. A plane? I do not think so. No, it is the Newton Village Alliances and their brave representatives on the just-right-size City Council to the rescue. With their delaying tactics and frivolous law suits, NVA and friends surely will keep Newton safe and strong, or at least just the same way it was 100 years ago.
@Elmo: I’m assuming you live in a cave or perhaps under some brush? Otherwise you realize you live in something that someone developed, right?
Your point Mr. Reibman? (I find the whole “@” thing rather affected, don’t @you?) I am quite grateful for the developer who provided me with the comfortable abode in which I currently resided, the previous owners who saw fit to sell my family said home, and my employer for providing me with the resources to afford it. Though not as luxurious as some in Newton, it is certainly neither a cave nor sub-bush. My sincerest desire is for development to thrive in Newton. Whether it be for high end housing or more affordable units, the CC should vigorously ignore the NVA and their cohort recognizing that the best and most appropriate use of a piece of property is determined by those who own it.
I asked the new Economic Development Coordinator to do “Exit Interviews” for Eastern Mountain Sports which is closing down just the Needham Street store and Newbury Comics which posted a list on its site showing that the economics of the site were the worst of its six shops. I think it will be very interesting to learn why some otherwise successful chains feel the need to close on Needham Street.
City Councilor Brian Yates
Councilor Yates,
Kathryn asked me about that as well. As far as I understand, both chains have undergone major contractions that extend far beyond Newton. These chains were not “otherwise successful.”
Newbury Comics closed a few stores as their model shifted away from music and more toward clothing. By my count on their website they have 28 (and they shuttered an associated brand). Many of those are in shopping malls. EMS closed about 30 stores across the nation (both Bob’s and EMS brands) and when I was in there toward the end of their sale, they were bringing in merchandise from other stores.
I spoke with one landlord in the area who said that they are looking for tenants who can’t be “Amazoned” in that they are more service-oriented than retail-oriented.
The truth is we’re in the middle of what’s called the retail apocalypse in which major and minor operations that rely on retail sales are closing but are being replaced with more experiential operations (such as restaurants, crafts locations, etc).
Restaurants are notoriously difficult to open in Newton thanks to a series of factors. We need to find ways to enable them to open faster and more easily. As for other experiential operations, that’s up to the landlords to court and bring them in.
‘brick & mortar’ > ‘brick & click’, that’s the ticket. But unfortunately institutions such as the NNCoC are structured, sponsored, and stuck in maintaining the status quo platform rather than embracing new concept.
I’m sure Chuck Tanowitz is right when he describes Eastern Mountain Sports and Newbury Comics as less than successful and that the closings of their stores on Needham Street were at least partially due to the “Retail Apocaplyse.” However the fact remains that both of these troubled chains found that the worst off of their stores were on Needham Street. Newbury Comics put a list on the window of its former store showing that all its other stores in eastern Massachusetts were doing better than the Needham Street store. We need to find a way to preserve the remaining stores in the Innovation District so that no more chains pick the stores there as the ones in their chains to close.
By the way, I remember the comments at the kick-off of the Innovation Corridor that many of the employees wanted nearby amenities like book stores. What can be done to inform the hundreds of employees in the Needham Crossing buildings that a unique book store like New England Mobile
Book Fair is a short drive or a reasonable walk away in the plaza on Needham Street?
I agree with Councilor Yates. Neither of these retail chains went out of business. There are still EMS and Newbury Comics open. Putting aside the Amazononian takeover, we need to understand why precisely were these retail outlets in Newton closed while others were not.
Newbury Comics was poorly located for a store of its type. For the most part, it appealed to teens who weren’t of driving age. At a certain age, my kids loved it but spending time there was my idea of parental torture. If it had been in a location that kids could walk to, it might have done better. As for the EMS, I don’t know if the chain is going downhill or what, but I wasn’t able to find anything appealing in that store and I’ve always been an EMS fan. I really gave that one a shot.
A lot of stores do well on Needham Street: National Lumber, Staples, TJ Maxx, China Fair, Leather World are places where I frequently shop. Quality and good service are key.
I believe EMS closed all stores except two. They had a bankruptcy issue. I was very sorry to see them go. EMS had a problem larger than anything to do with Needham st.
Councilor Yates,
We are working to make sure that the people working in the Innovation District know what is around them. That’s what is behind a lot of the marketing effort. Of course, this will take time.
Part of this will be solved with a walkable and bikeable streetscape. We can’t expect workers to drive from their place of work on Wells Ave and park solely to go to a single store. We need to create a walkable destination so they can leave their work or home and walk to places they want to visit. In cases in which they drive, they should have a number of activities within easy access of as single parking spot.
Today Needham Street doesn’t offer that kind of experience. We are working with the state DOT to ensure that the future of Needham Street is different.
I was a frequent visitor to Newbury Comics here. Perfect way to get the kids out of the house, take a 20-minute walk or quick bike ride on a Sunday afternoon, give them $5 and tell them to buy a button or whatever inexpensive chotchke they could find. (OK, pushover Dad would almost always end up letting them spend two or three times that amount.) We went in there the last day it was open, when everything was on sale at more than half off and walked away with many bargains. I spoke to one of the young people working there, who told me the reason the company left was the rent was much too high. Still miss that place. Sometimes we will take the train to Boston and visit the original store. There are also stores in Natick and Norwood.
Many malls and Business Improvement Districts like Downtown Crossing in Boston post and publish maps showing their stores identified by category and location. Such a tool would seem to be useful enhancement of the Innovation District.
Brian Yates
@Councilor Yates: If the business community decides to form a BID it’s great to know we’d have your support.
That is something that is in the works right now.