Here’s a 3D flyover video showing the proposed transit oriented development at Riverside Station by Mark Development.
The project’s features includes:
- 675 housing units (both condo and rental)
- 547,000 square feet of office space
- 65,000 square feet of shops and retail A new 200 room hotel (replacing Hotel Indigo)
- Outdoor amphitheater/public park
- Newly designed and hidden garage (3,000 spaces)
If we want transit-oriented development, this is the best location in Newton for it, so I hope the city gets it right. I like the fact that is has more commercial and hotel development than other proposed projects which will help the tax base in Newton. It seems removed enough from nearby neighborhoods so that it won’t affect their character much. Time will tell if the proposed changes to the highway ramp will be enough to off-set the additional traffic.
This is a pretty sizable development. Anyone want to guess how much “one-time profit” and “ongoing annual profit” the developer is going to make from this?
In return for pillaging this location for $$, how much % of profits should be given back to residents?
Lets say they make 200M one-time profit and 5M per year from rents then their giveback of a simple “shuttle bus” would be such an insult to us. We deserve the know the numbers
Due to the request of special permit, the City should be entitled to know how much profit the developer is going to make. if the permit is approved. “Without” a special permit, it would be none of our business.. but since they are insisting…
We don’t need to guess. The independent consultant hired by the city has told us. I plan on writing a post about this in the near future. But you can find the answer to your quesiton in the video presentation here starting at the 41:30 mark on this video.
Greg,
broken link… we can all get to argue about “fair share”
without the special permit, the developer has every right to do and profit as much as they want.. none of our business.
But once they request the special permit, I believe it is very fair to ask “what tangible extra will the city get”?
– money into city funds
– enforce netzero building and x% to be total recycle
– donate or free rent on school building + ongoing costs
– make frequent commuter rail a requirement. ie FORCE the developers to use their lobbying power to the MBTA to our benefit.
– or decide the trade-off is simply not worth it to existing residents in the area
Overall, I like the proposal. However, if you don’t have a car or take the T, it’s pretty much cut off from the rest of Newton. The bicycle path mentioned towards the end of the presentation seems like an afterthought; it’s not actually connected to anywhere, except some leisure trails along the riverside. Getting there from Beacon Street on foot or bike would require a lengthy detour through Newton Lower Falls. Let’s say I worked at the Newton-Wellesley Hospital and wanted to do a little light shopping at lunchtime — I’d pretty much have to go one stop on the T.
How about a public right-of-way through the golf course, alongside the T tracks?