Robert Korff’s plans are just getting started to redevelop Washington Street’s two mile stretch through the Newton Villages of West Newton, Newtonville and Newton Corner in addition to Riverside in Auburndale according to this Boston Globe article.
His properties now include, in addition to Washington Place, up to 15 acres around Whole Foods, properties behind the West Newton Armory, the Santander Bank Building in West Newton Square and the Riverside Project. His plans include 450 housing units plus 60,000 sq ft commercial behind the armory and the renovation of the bank building for offices including Mark Development. Aside from Washington Place, this is the only project for which Korff has submitted formal plans to city officials, which I haven’t been able to find.
A spokeswoman for Korff declined to comment when asked if he’s interested in the opportunity put forward by Mayor Fuller to sell the Police Station in West Newton.
[The Administration just hired] the Principle Group to do a master study of the corridor. [Mayor] Fuller said this report, which will take more than a year to complete, isn’t just about Korff’s ambitions but will also reflect the kind of development and zoning changes that residents want to see.
“We will have to get input from lots of landowners in the process, not just one who is making a lot of purchases at the moment,” Fuller said.
“It’s too much power in the hands of one private interest,” [City Councilor Emily] Norton said.
Washington Street is a corridor that needs to be reenergized,” said Newton-Needham Regional Chamber president Greg Reibman. “It’s not attractive and doesn’t show Newton’s best face.
Fred Goldstein worries about what Newton will lose, as many of the north side’s classic two-deckers and other affordable apartment options get torn down in the name of progress. [He] was forced to move his old offices from the Orr block after Korff took over. But he didn’t escape Korff’s growing empire for long: He learned earlier this year that Mark Development is acquiring his new building, at 815 Washington St., too.
As always please share your thoughts in the comments. For a constructive dialog hyperbole and personal disparagements are discouraged. Thanks
I just noticed that V14 now has dueling posts on the Globe article. That wasn’t my intention but since Andy’s doesn’t include info some might not know or quotes for those who won’t read the article, I’m leaving this one up too.
It doesn’t matter to me that Korff is the sole developer. What is important is his vision for Washington St. Does it reflect the needs of the people who live and work there now? Several community groups have formed in the past 4 years in opposition to housing development that is out of scale with the village. The village is zoned for commercial use. Much of this is disappearing for new housing. This erodes business opportunities for nearby residents. Many local homeowners depend on services in the village.
The immense scale of these Korff projects may not reflect the needs of Newtonville residents. Let’s hear more from them about their concerns for massive development which may not actually improve the old historical look and feel of Newtonville. Changes may enrich the developers but could also ruin the village many love now.
Hi Colleen, the part of Newtonville Center that is north of the pike, Washington Street in particular, doesn’t have the “old historical feel” that the parts surrounding Walnut Street have. It’s a mixture of housing, commercial and offices not in any particular style. Some quite lovely and others not so much.
I’m on record supporting Washington Place at four stories especially along Walnut Street. I didn’t get what I wanted but I’m OK with that.
Note that Newtonville is just one among four villages affected and not all are housing with commercial. The renovation of the Santander Bank building for offices in West Newton won’t change its appearance.
Marti:
I think it depends on where you are looking. West Newton village has some historical feel. And I’d be opposed to tearing down the movie theater building for a large apartment building for instance. The Bank building and the police station also should be preserved.
But I do agree 100% that once you are out of the West Newton village there is very little historic feel left, much to my dismay. The church/school by Whole foods is historical of course. A few homes. the Post office. But Whole foods is a big parking lot. There are multiple random commercial buildings, several of which are new and ugly. (I’m looking at you, former Sleepy’s mattress store that used to be a place to buy plants).
I’d be opposed to tearing down the post office as well. But absent that, zoning code is more the issue.
As for making Washington Street more residential, I fully appreciate the issue with the schools, but if you want to activate and support local retail, you need local bodies. Nothing does that better than density of residents that can walk to your stores. Every one of these buildings should be front facing, with first floor retail, to activitate Washington Street. I’d be more on board with this plan if we managed to improve the commuter rails access in Newtonville.
As for traffic on this stretch, West Newton can be tough, Newton corner can be tough, but his stretch isn’t and calls out for creative uses of the road.
Making Washington street a single lane in each direction?
Has the man, the Mayor, or anyone on the city council recently travelled Washington Street betweeen the hours of 4pm and 7pm and what do they think (besides a “we need a feasibility study”)?
A single lane is the LAST thing Washington Street needs.
But then again, what do I know.: I’m just one of the governed.
Why won’t we advocate for commercial office buildings instead of housing?
Given the city’s unfounded liabilities to the tune of 1,000,000,000 it’s time to start encouraging commercial development given its benefits tax wise. We all know it’s twice the residential rate and it doesn’t mandate new school buildings and extra kids using them.
That’s $,$$$,$$$,$$$ as billion.