Mayor Fuller issued the following RFI today for a new site for a police complex. It includes the current HQ, garage and annex as locations to swap or sell.
From the mayor’s office:
“Mayor Ruthanne Fuller today issued a formal Request for Information (RFI) for a new site for a police complex. This sets in motion an innovative proposal that could result in the City building a new police complex with open space and potential recreation fields in exchange for the current police properties in West Newton Square.
The RFI specifically seeks locations for the City “to acquire a parcel of land, by purchase, swap or other means, with or without buildings thereon, within the City limits, for the purpose of building a new Police Station Complex.” It also calls for the possibility of additional open space or recreational space, especially in areas of Newton that are underserved.
The RFI includes the current Police Headquarters and garage at 1321 Washington Street, and the Police Annex at 25 Chestnut Street as locations to sell or swap.
Interested parties have until Wednesday, May 30, 2018 to submit a proposal.
“I’m looking forward to exploring the opportunities to move this important public safety project forward, while at the same time looking at proposals to strengthen the vibrancy of West Newton Square,” Mayor Fuller said.
Mayor Fuller began thinking about options for a new police complex after touring with Police Chief David MacDonald the current Newton police facilities as well as police headquarters in Watertown and Weston.
What she saw was Newton Police Department facilities that are too small; the layout functionally inadequate; limited parking; and a building that doesn’t meet current structural safety codes.
Addressing these issues on the current site in West Newton Square would require demolishing the historic building, something Mayor Fuller wants to preserve. In addition, starting from scratch on the current site would be difficult since it’s too small for the department’s space and parking needs. The financial reality of this endeavor and the large number of other priority building projects had pushed planning for such a police project far down the road.
Instead she came up with the possibility to leverage the value of the West Newton police properties to provide an opportunity to greatly accelerate construction of a new police headquarters and recreational facilities that would otherwise be financially unattainable for many years to come.
All the responses to the RFI will be available to the public and posted on the City’s website at newtonma.gov after the May 30 submission deadline.”
I also just read that the police station is having a family-friendly open house this evening. I don’t know if this was timed out to happen the same day as this announcement, but either way it could be a fun thing to do with kids today.
Dream would be to construct a parking garage where the current library parking lot is located, with a new police HQ building constructed above. This would centralize this function in the center of the City, create shared parking for City Hall, the Library, and the new Police Complex, in an area of the city with no (living) abutters to protest. Maybe the sale of the buildings in West Newton could go a long way toward providing funding.
What are the stumbling blocks? Too expensive? Would this land support a 3 or 4 story structure?
@Al,
The library parking lot is not a good option. The area is prone to flooding during heavy rains and I sincerely doubt the space is large enough to accommodate the needs of a modern day police station.
Due to security issues with parking for cruisers and personal vehicles, a shared garage space is also not a good option. The idea of a centrally located station is nice but not a necessity. What is a necessity is a facility that is large enough to include training facilities, secure parking, office space for all the various support staff and basic kitchen and living quarters….just to name a few things!
May 30? Sounds o me like some proposals have already been written.
@Rick Frank, ya think? My only quibble with Mark Marderosian’s very appropriate cartoon was that I’ve felt from the very first reading of the email to the city councilors that the genesis of this ‘innovative proposal’ (is it tacky to call your own proposal ‘innovative’?) was Robert Korff himself, because it was just too damn convenient. This May 30 deadline only solidifies that suspicion. Who else but Korff is in a position to put together a proposal for the Police HQ properties, and the land to offer for a swap, in 20 days?
And this makes a mockery of the claim that the City Council had to rush to approve a no-bid $500,000 contract so we could “get ahead” of Korff and find out what residents wanted first. That consultant has barely begun the public engagement process, we’re a month away from the weeklong charrette and almost a year away from a final zoning proposal, and here is the same administration rushing to offer up public property in a way that’s tailored to the developer we’re supposedly trying to ‘get ahead’ of.
Here’s the RFI: http://www.newtonma.gov/civicax/bids/inc/blobfetch.aspx?blobid=89570
There is no mention of preserving 25 Chestnut Street — the current Police Annex and former West Newton Branch Library. If you’ve been in either the Auburndale or Waban community libraries, you know how beautiful these historic assets are. And the West Newton branch building has been in continuous use so it’s in much better shape than the once-threatened-but-now-apparently-going-to-be-preserved Newton Centre branch building.
Further, it appears that Capt. John Ryan Park is now expendable, because the RFI refers to “maintaining or replacing Captain Ryan Park in some capacity.”
Words are insufficient to express my disgust with this proposal, and the idea of selling off Newton’s, and my village’s, public assets to the guy with the deepest pockets and more ego than taste.
Very good letter Julia. I agree, if the headquarters are torn down,
so many people will be disgusted with our city’s leadership.
The villages are meant for civic activity and commerce. People need a central place to conduct business. It is no place for dense housing. Look for some housing space on Rumford Ave. and also on Lexington St.
I do not fault Bob Korff as much as the people who have given him the green light to proceed against our existing zoning regulations. The mayor and most of the city councilors are to blame for not respecting the will of the majority of Newton home
owners. They want their homes and villages protected.
That coupled with today’s Globes’ story about the tear down on Chestnut Street has me really thinking about getting out before it gets bad…
Hey Rick: Where will you go?
I agee with Julie. The sticks to high heaven. When I first read about this my antenna went up, but the fact that the proposal was supposed to retain the existing PD building was reassuring. Has that requirement been scrapped?
@Claire, the justification for this exercise is to preserve the existing main HQ building, so that had better not be negotiable. But seems like everything else is. The bidder does not even have to supply the whole 130,680 sq ft. It can be a “combination of new parcel and developable City owned parcel.”
Where could Rick go? Just saw some lovely photos of Massapoisett on Emily’s FB page, but don’t go, Rick! If all the people not happy leave, it’s just helping the developers. Stay and fight! Resist!
Losing Captain Ryan Park would be a REALLY big loss. I always thought it was underutilized as a recreation space. They have the one concert there a year but it could be used for so much more – more concerts, arts and crafts events, magic shows for kids in the summer, a picnic area for eating takeout like the little park by the triangle lot in Newton Centre…as a community, we should be thinking of improvements of that space in that sort of capacity. They really need to keep it and make better use of it.
I can’t say I know much about this issue … but that never seems to stop me from weighing in ;-)
As best as I can tell the police dept. has an old building that needs some serious and expensive upgrades. Even if they are done, the building is too small to meet their needs. On top of that, the police station eats up a substantial amount of the prime parking spots that support the businesses in West Newton.
So if it was possible to trade that location for another bigger location where the parking wasn’t at a premium, why would that not be a good idea?
As I say, I don’t done know the details (i.e where the devil lives) but on the face of it this seems like a good and imaginative idea to me.
@Jerry, I don’t have an issue with the concept as long as the PD building is restored/maintained. What I do have an issue with is all of the issues Julia raises. Did this concept come out of the blue from the mayor, or is this tailered because some developer who has a huge interest in obtaining this property has an offer. Why rush this? Why not make sure it is broadly promoted to maximize responses/inquiries? Why do I feel Korff has some small parcel of land that sits adjacent to some city owned land that will be proposed for a swap? Why wouldn’t the city wait until the work product from the consultant who was awarded a no-bid contract because it was critical that we had their recommendation so fast that we couldn’t put that out to bid.? The whole thing smells to me.
@Greg well I’m not sure but since it seems that all that seems to matter is maximizing profit I should sell my house ( which is 1/2 block in from Washington Street ) before all of Washington Street becomes a 5 story canyon ( my preferred term over “corridor”. One of the issues that came up at the planning meeting was the idea that the event is a waste of time because it’s just a way to let the people feel like they have a say. The cynic in me says that’s true. And as Frank Zappa once replied when asked if he was more cynical as he got older, “ I’m not more cynical, I’ve just got more evidence to back it up.”
@Rick: I talk to a lot of folks in neighboring municipalities. They all feel that their community is undergoing significant changes as the demand grows for more more transit options and more mixed use developments and both seniors and young adults seek housing that does not include a garage and back yard. Times are changing. Demand is changing. And the economy is strong so developers are willing to invest in projects that fulfill a need that the market is willing to support. We all like to think Newton is special but really the changes that are happening here — or being proposed — aren’t any different than what you’ll find when you start looking for another terrific community to call home.
Thank God for “developers willing to invest” in Newton !… sounds something like the twisted logic Donald Trump might say.
What about the investment the citizens of this “ not so special community” made in taking up residence here!
Bill: Just like Cabots wouldn’t sell ice cream if no one enjoyed eating it, investors wouldn’t be willing to invest Washington Street if human beings weren’t interested in a better Washington Street.
And let’s dispel of myth that Newton residents oppose wholesale change the way your group the Newton Villages Alliance opposes EVERYTHING. Over the last two election cycles, voters overwhelming voted for candidates who support thoughtful improvements and against the just say no candidates supported by your group.
The currently off-limits back alley has excellent potential as a pedestrianized Dutch style “woonerf”, or to take parking burden off Washington St allowing more space for people.
“Investors”, are not gambling on more flavors of ice cream, their motives are more base ,.. $$$$.
The Newton Villages Alliance isn’t against EVERYTHING ,.. they are for the preservation of a place they call home. They are for green streets, pedestrian friendly environments, burial of utilities along Needham Street, a naturally affordable and diverse housing stock, a moratorium on home demolitions see (Any Sangiolo ), until character preserving zoning is studied and implemented, they are for housing for the middle class, they are for large scale commercial development that would relieve the tax burden of the average home owner ( and help pay for the $ 1 Billion unfunded liabilities we are subject to ).
Ya, a real negative group,.. intent on maintaining the value of their own “investment “,.. in their own home !
@Blueprintbill – you say that the Newton Village Alliance is “FOR large scale commercial development” but as far as I can see the NVA has been against virtually every development project that I can think of that had ANY commercial component. They were against Austin St, against Riverside (I believe), against the Washington St project in Newtonville and appear to be against any possible commercial development along the whole Washington St corridor. So what “large scale commercial development” has the NVA ever supported?
Also while claiming you support commercial development you constantly seem to charge that a developer having a profit motive is some evil thing – as if we don’t live within a capitalist system; that a developer wanting to make a profit is somehow terrible in a way that a plumber or a landscaper being motivated by profit isn’t. If you truly do support commercial development there is nobody other than “greedy, profit motivated” developers that will build it.
As for “naturally affordable housing stock”, a “moratorium on home demolitions” and “character preserving zoning” – that all seems to almost add up to no new housing.
@Greg it’s really not true and is in bad taste to just say that a group ( or myself) are against everything. My biggest and almost only concern is height. I think the Orr building is going to be too tall. And then the next developer will request the same height next time. So zoning is really a useless thing if all it takes is for a developer to propose some park benches and some trees and ( $$$ who knows who the local attorney “fixer” is ) voila 5 stories. But then again, it’s the world’s oldest profession….politician…
So the latest is they want to rezone all of Newton with an increase in density near transit. Well, Waban and Newton Centre are the two best candidates for higher density and I think one will find that everyone becomes NIMBY when it’s their back yard at play….
Rick: I never suggested you were against everything. I don’t know you and have no history with you.
But the NVA has an established record of being against everything. That’s just a fact, as Jerry pointed out.
As for your comments about height, I have a question and I’m asking it not to challenge you but to better understand where you’re coming from: What is too tall? And is there a number of stories that will always be too tall in Newton or does it depend on the location?
Jerry,
Either you just don’t get it or you’ve drunk the the developers ( Donald Trump’s ) cool aid.
Austin street’s commercial ? It’s a pittance. And the 40 b’s we’ve argued against,.. yes indeed .
And the housing at the over developed Crescent Street neighborhood, instead of a pocket park on city owned property?
Who pays for all the city services, and additional classrooms that all this high rise / high density housing generates? Not the developers.
850 new units at the end of Needham Street ! Will the developer build even one new classroom ? NO !
And the tear downs with their McMansion replacements that you questioned on a different V14 thread ?
Where is the social diversity that this activity promotes? I doesn’t exist! More and more it’s becoming a city of and for the wealthy.
The NVA has “an established record “, of being against 40b projects, just like all the abutters within a quarter mile of every such proposal. Not because we’re racist, or because we don’t accept needy newcomers into the community, but because this sort of development diminishes the physical environment we have all worked so hard to enjoy here.
Policemen, school teachers, plumbers, etc.etc. can’t find a modest middle class home here because the community has turned its back on them in favor of new high taxed housing. Witness our zoning laws, generous FAR’s , and ease of obtaining special permits.
And please don’t try and argue that now the development community is going to provide the mythical new 1 bedroom apartment in their new, now affordable, complex,.. because they are so generous or charitable. New construction is expensive, developers expect to turn a profit, and the devil may care who pays the price.
@blueprintbill – whew!!
I’m not sure what all those comments were in response to. You said the NVA supported “large scale commercial” development and I asked where/when? As best as I can remember NVA has come out in opposition to virtually every proposed commercial development in recent years.
There’s nothing wrong with opposing commercial development per se, if that’s your preference. If so, its not then accurate to say the NVA supports “large scale commercial development”.
Your comments were all about 40Bs. I never mentioned them so I’m not sure what you’re responding to.
@blueprintbill – as for kool-aid flavors, i’m a berry-cherry man. That trump flavor wouldnt be for me ;-)
Jerry,
Just because the NVA doesn’t support the willy-nilly development of MU-4 projects , ( the proposal of which we see at the Orr Block or Austin Street ) , with their token commercial development at street level ( after all the Orr Block already had its commercial there), we are fully cognizant of the burdensome residential taxation the citizenry of Newton is under , as a result of the $1 Billion unfunded liability we are faced with.
I’m not sure where your mistaken sources of info re the NVA are coming from ( they seem to be from almost every pro housing development direction ) , but I would suggest you refer to the NVA website for current and upcoming positions being taken.
Just google Newton Villages Alliance.
My position as a seated member of the Needham Street Visioning Panel was to encourage Northland to build exclusively commercial office and retail facilities and not the proposed 850 units of housing they have been proposing . This is a NVA position that enjoyed wide support. The same could be said for Riverside, or the Washington Street corridor.
@blueprintbill – OK, now we’re talking.
Fair enough points. So to be more accurate (and yes a bit snarky) the NVA has not supported any proposed projects that included commercial development but it would support different big commercial projects that have not been proposed by any developers so far.
As for housing, the NVA is against all 40B’s and any “mixed use” development that contains any substantial number of new housing units.
So to Greg’s point. It’s unfair to say the NVA is against all new development. A more accurate description would be they have been against every development project that has been proposed in recent years. It may be possible that there will be a proposed commercial development in the future that it could get behind.
The responses are in and wait for it…wait for it…only one response….from Korff. What a surprise. Here is the content from the mayor’s email
“The City received only one response to our request for proposals for a site to locate a new police complex, and at first glance, I’ve got a few concerns.
That’s not to say the whole undertaking is off the table, but let’s just say there’ll have to be some tough negotiating to get the proposal to a place where it makes sense for the City.
A little background: A few months ago, Police Chief David MacDonald took me on a tour of the Newton Police Headquarters, as well as those in Watertown and Weston. Suffice it to say, ours is in dire need of an upgrade. It’s too small, parking is limited, and the building is not up to current safety codes. A new police complex, however, would be very expensive and we have a lot of competing needs.
But what if there were a way to capture the value of the current headquarters, a prized piece of real estate in West Newton Square, and find a way to build a new station, preserve the historic Police Headquarters building, and strengthen the vibrancy of the village center?
We issued a request for proposals last month, with a deadline of today, to see if there was anyone interested.
Mark Development (Robert Korff’s company) responded with a plan that essentially trades about 1.7 acres of land off Craft Street (next to our DPW facilities) and provides $7 million for constructing a new Police Headquarters in exchange for the current Police headquarters, garage and annex in West Newton Square.
An advisory committee made up of Police Chief David MacDonald and other department heads, and four City Councilors (Lenny Gentile, Allan Ciccone, Deb Crossley, and Barbara Brousel-Glaser) has been convened to study the proposal and advise me on how to proceed. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, we’re working to get the full proposal from Mark Development posted online tomorrow”
So not surprising. I’m starting to dread opening the mayor’s emails. The self-congratulatory tone and the stream of photo ops is just too much.
It also would have been nice if she spelled Barbara’s last name correctly and put CraftS Street.