In advance of Tuesday’s (June 18, 7 p.m.) meeting before the City Council’s Land Use committee, Northland has sent a letter to Land Use Committee chair Greg Schwartz, outlining proposed changes to their Needham Street project. Read the letter for full details but here’s some key points.
- Additional units of workforce housing, bringing the total to 140 units, representing more than the total number of affordable housing units built in Newton since 2003.
- A commitment to obtaining passive house certification for three residential buildings (representing 35% of the total) with interest in expanding that to another five buildings (representing 85% of total). Northland is also willing to commit to achieve the Gold level of LEED for Neighborhood Development.
- Agreeing to finance the undergrounding all the utilities wires and remove 77 poles along portions of Needham Street, Oak Street, Christina Street, and Tower Road.
- Provide free (to both the public and the residents) round trip shuttle service from the Mobility Hub to the Newton Highlands MBTA stop. The electric vehicle (“EV”) T Circulator will provide 10-minute service, 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, which makes NND effectively a transit-oriented development.
- Replace the proposed community building with splash park/skating rink and fund the cost of the improvements up to $1 million as well as operating costs. This programming change will assure an active Greenway year-round.
- Just kidding about the unicorns but there are new traffic mitigation enhancements for Oak Street.
Big improvement – glad that it’s electric too! “Provide free (to both the public and the residents) round trip shuttle service from the Mobility Hub to the Newton Highlands MBTA stop. The electric vehicle (“EV”) T Circulator will provide 10-minute service, 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, which makes NND effectively a transit-oriented development.”
Its nice to know the developer is going to add these amenities to maintain the value of his properties (ie keep his rents high)
So how about the school overcrowding for people not “fortunate” to live in northland?
Btw, this blog is doing a great great job lobbying for developers… highly recommended.
Bugek: Glad you’re enjoying it!
But which school crowding problem are you talking about? The problem that the demographers say doesn’t exist or the one you’ve fabricated because that’s what you consistently do whenever facts don’t meet your narrative?
And before my friend Jane from the teachers union jumps in, our schools need upgrades and modernizing. The good news is that projects like Northland will add to the tax base we need to do this critical work.
Greg,
In that case, the developer will no issues reimbursing the city $10k a year for every student living in the development enrolled ABOVE the developers own enrollment estimate.
Fair deal? Zero risk since there will be no overcrowding plus it will alleviate most of the project opposition concerns
Actually Bugsteer, most of the concerns with Northland seen to be about traffic, environmental impact and the number of affordable units. The school crowding issue has already been debunked.
Greg,
You can say it is debunked, but in reality the Avalon apartments on Needham Street overwhelmed Countryside. And now we have all these buffer zones of Angier/Zervas. If you put in another large development in there, Countryside can NOT absorb them.
And, yes, this complex will attract school aged families. Anything with a two bedroom apartment attracts families.
Please don’t say it is debunked. Avalon wasn’t going to overwhelm the schools, and it did. I predict the same for Northland.
Newton Mom you have to study birth trends and housing supply to appreciate how this is different.
The millennial and gen x age women aren’t having children at the same rate as boomers did and also are part of smaller generations.
At the same time aging boomers are becoming empty nesters and not moving out of their big multiple bedroom Newton homes that might otherwise house a younger family with school age kids.
Bottom line, we’re experiencing a decline in school age kids.
This is not fake news. Read the reports, not just from Newton but region wide.
Greg,
All this time, i thought this blog was an unbiased community blog to discuss many issues and viewpoints.
I’ve realized its really just an extension of the newton chamber of commerce.
So, I’m going to sign off here and requesting myself to be banned so i wont feel the need to visit or comment on this site any further..
Keep up the great work. You guys definitely earn your paychecks..
The thing that bothered me watching the video of the presentation of that report was the guy’s (somewhat condescending) contention that families won’t stay in apartments throughout their kids’ school-age years, and that older/elderly adults won’t live in regular (not 55-plus) apartment multi-unit developments. If we think he’s right, why do we say we need these developments to create more affordable options for young families, and to create apartments for down-sizers? Who’s actually going to live in them? And what happens if he’s wrong? That will mean lots of young families moving into the new developments, as well as into the houses now made available by down-sizing older folks.
Why the heck should they do that? Public K-12 education in this country is free, and the city has an obligation to provide it to everyone, full stop.
Gotta love the efforts to keep the relatively unwealthy condo demographic out of our school system, while the McMansion carpetbaggers get a deferential free pass from the concern trolls. Can we charge some of the “rightsize” complainers $10k a year for each of the 3 extra bedrooms that they constructed and filled with kids when they tore down old folks’ 2-BR capes in the neighborhood behind H.C. Starck? Or maybe just a uniform per-child education surcharge to every family in town! Why not.
This development will be a vast improvement for Needham Street, which has always been a dump area, dating to the days of eyesores like Hallamore and St. Regis. If there are concrete, contractual promises in place to guarantee that a free 10-minute shuttle service will be offered in perpetuity to the public, then there’s nobody who’s in a legitimate position to be complaining about this.
How the first conversation between Northland and the City of Newton SHOULD have gone…
Northland:
We would like to develop our 25 acre property and will need a Special Permit to do it.
Mayor Fuller:
The City will be happy to discuss a Special Permit only if it includes 15K square feet of space for Newton schools, and a 30% affordable housing commitment.
Greg -I assume you’re referring to some other Jane, because I’m Jane from the Newton Public Schools. As you also know, the only people who belong to the Newton Teachers Association are Newton educators so that other Jane must also be an educator. 🙂
As you note, the schools are in need of rebuilding and expansion to accommodate the many additional programs that have been adopted since the current schools were built. Since they’re going to be rebuilt anyway, the overall expense can be mitigated as it’s much more cost effective to add a bit more space to a new building than to add an addition years later. It also makes sense to build a facility that’s expected to last for 50 to 60 years that is able to accommodate the peaks and valleys of enrollment that are bound to occur over the decades.
As for the demographer’s report, let it sit on a shelf and collect dust like all such reports we’ve seen over the years. Remember a realtor’s mantra: location, location, location. While other communities were losing students in the past few years, Brookline’s enrollment increased by 16% due to its easy access to Boston and good schools. Likewise, Newton will always be an attractive alternative for people who work in Boston or along Rte. 95.
Predicting enrollment is all the more difficult without knowing what the future may hold in those two employment zones. As an example, just this week a major merger of two large corporations was announced with the news that they intend to locate in the Boston area and most likely that place is Waltham. How might such changes affect demographics in the schools?
As for Northland’s new changes, they look good to me. It also looks like Northland is making a serious effort to accommodate community input which is a good sign.
What? No unicorns? Sorry – even the shuttle service doesn’t make this a TOD. Let’s hear from the State how they are going to improve public transit to accommodate not only this development but their existing commuters – who after the last two derailments – have taken to Uber/Lyft or their own personal cars – for reliability – not just convenience.
Yes – Mike Striar- the conversation must be focused on significant increase in the affordable units and additional capacity for our schools or a signficant reduction in the number of units.
I’m glad they’re looking at passive house – which is really important and should basically be the standard for all development going forward.
The most important thing, for me, is electric heat. We should not build a new complex like this with any fossil fuel heat. It costs a ton of money to install the infrastructure for fossil fuel heat and it is a bad value proposition for the company and the city.
Bugek,
I hope you’ll reconsider your departure. It will be a loss for the blog.
Greg is just doing what he is paid for: cherry –picking and sharing (dis)information that promotes his masters’ businesses. His fiduciary obligation is to these businesses, not Newton residents. You don’t declare your mailbox biased and throw it away just because you find some “promotional materials” inside, right?
I understand how people who don’t know me would believe this to be true. However those who know me from my decade at the TAB and as a moderator of the old TAB blog will know that I’ve long supported increased density, a greater variety of our housing stock and transit oriented development (including the Austin Street project which predated my start at the chamber). Rather than the chamber hiring me to “buy” my views, the chamber directors who were on the selection committee will tell you they hired me in part because I was already an established, vocal advocate for strengthening Newton’s economic vitality through growth.
It’s what I believed in at the TAB. It’s what I believe in as a Newton resident of many decades.
Plus, it’s not like I’m alone in my enthusiasm for more housing diversity and density. Many, many, of our fellow Newton residents support these initiatives and speak up just as loudly — if not more — as I do every day.
Is there a time limit on the bus service? Will it be running 10 years from now?
The devil is always in the details. Is the signed contract on all these promises available to the public? Unicorns actually may be more likely. And, who’s going to enforce all the promises be kept?
@Newtoner in perpetuity, so it’ll be running 10,000 years from now!
What Anatoly Kleyman and Rick Frank said. Notch.
@Greg: “Many, many of our fellow Newton residents support these initiatives and speak up just as loudly…as I do every day.” And many, many do NOT. What’s to lose by allowing one of them to start a thread? It would give a little color and contrast to the usual fare on V 14, no?
@Bugek:
Why are you picking on the editor? Both you and the editor are prolific writers on this site. Here, the crucial difference between you and Greg is that Greg volunteers to run the site and you don’t.
Everybody on this site has an opinion; that’s exactly the point. Greg has an opinion; he writes about it. You can respond, and you almost always do. You can respond as much as you like and take as much space as you like, even more than Greg. As soon as you post a comment it is listed at the top of most recent comments, where everyone sees it. If you like, you can always have the last word. How is that unfair to you?
If you take this thread as an example, Greg seems to be in the ideological minority. His opponents have had more airtime than he. How does that make this site biased?
It is no secret that Greg is President of the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce. Every reader can interpret his comments with that information in mind. As for your, @bugek, I don’t know the personal motives behind your comments. That’s okay, but tell me how Greg is being unfair to you?
Greg is one of several volunteers who choose topics for this site. The headlines represent a wide array of viewpoints. If you would like to suggest some stories I am sure the editors of this site would consider your suggestions. Perhaps you could even volunteer like Greg.
Or use your real name.
I read the letter Lawrence (CEO of Northland wrote) – the precipice of Greg’s post.
1. These concessions were not out of the kindness of Northland, but in response to another letter from Auchincloss to Northland to reduce the number of proposed parking spaces (is Northland truly committed to car-free living)?
2. Northland basically said, “NO!” to the reduction in parking.
3. There had been no reduction in the total number of units (holding FIRM) at 800.
4. The original shuttle plan (to downtown and Cambridge at nearly hour intervals) was a disaster to begin with. Taking shorter trips to a poor performing D line (MBTA) is just a shift in density.
What this is ultimately about is the urbanization of Newton. If we wanted to live in Boston or Cambridge that’s where we would be.
Simple solution….limit height to 4 stories (current zoning) and call it a day. RightSize!!!!!
I managed to look up the special hearing that is (poorly) posted on Washington Place temporary sidewalk:
#179-19 Petition to amend Board Order #96-17 to allow bank use at Washington Place WASHINGTON PLACE OWNER, LLC petition for SPECIAL PERMIT/SITE PLAN APPROVAL to amend Special Permit Council Order #96-17 to allow modification of Condition #34 to allow the petitioner to lease commercial space to not more than one commercial bank with a total square footage not to exceed 3,800 sq. ft. at 845 Washington Street and 245 Walnut Street, Ward 2, Newtonville, Section 21 Block 29 Lot 10, containing approximately 123,956 sq. ft. of land in a district zoned MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT. Ref.: Sections 7.3, 7.4 of Chapter 30 of the City of Newton Revised Zoning Ordinances, 2017.
Just what we need, another bank.
@Greg
School overcrowding was not debunked. The estimates provided in the report were not consistent with our own history of developments in Newton. They understated expected students, and made conclusions on the future housing environment in Newton without supported facts. Its all there for everyone to read.
It was a poorly done report, commissioned by a pro-development mayor, that not surprisingly made conclusions that supported her views.
PS So all of your views just happen to 100% coincide with the business interests of the city? Leaf-blowers in the summer is just a passions of yours, eh?
@ Michael Singer
Calling Greg a volunteer is silly. He is paid to shape the debate in Newton, and V14 helps him do that.
Nobody is talking about all of the new developments in this area that have giant banners on them saying “now leasing” and “vacancy.” On any given Sunday, you can see open houses touting vacancies at Oak Row, Watertown Mews, Hancock Village, Westwood etc.
@Newton Runner: For lease signs are a very poor indicator. By their very nature, apartments turn over, sometimes often. People change jobs, get married or move in together, have families, find their dream home, decide to live with their parents, pass away, etc. Smart property owners/leasing agents are always looking to stay ahead of that; always wanting new prospects for the minute a unit becomes available. So you’re always marketing.
Here’s another way to look at it: Developers are not stupid. Neither are the bankers who finance these projects. If there really was no market for apartments they wouldn’t propose building them and lenders certainly wouldn’t be willing to invest in them.
“Neither are the bankers who finance these projects”
If 2007 and 2008 mean anything, it’s that bankers can be stupid, and greedy.
I will say that from my online research into Mixed Use developments, especially in California, the developers have already priced in the “retail” portions of these developments as loss leaders. Meaning, they know there’s a very good risk that they won’t find good retail tenants, and they price the housing accordingly to make up for the losses on retail.
https://cumbelich.com/blog/the-inconvenient-truth-about-mixed-use
These blog posts have an agenda. But the fact that Mark development is already asking for a change to his agreement to the city not to lease to a commercial bank to me says “so much for the pretty architectural drawings of outdoor cafes and crafty boutiques”. Here comes the usual banks, exercise gyms and nail salons, just like we already have.
Ah retail is a very different story. Pressure from online sales, tight labor market, regulations etc. can make retail leasing very challenging.
Of course having the right mixed use density can really enhance a merchant’s and lender’s interest in your location.
I’m mostly in favor of development in general with a few concerns and one actually being retail. As much as I love an independently owned retail store, a lot of the boutiques and specialized stores are really impractical. It’s not that exciting, but I’d like places that I could walk to and buy things like a package of socks or a toy for a classmate’s birthday party or a new mixing bowl. I’ve said this here before, but 2 of the 3 new(ish) storefronts on Elm are still empty after years! And the third one that has been filled is a by-appointment-only fitness studio right across the street from BSC! And I love how many new and great restaurants are popping up, but I can’t imagine, say, Washington Street being a mile of mostly restaurants.
MMQC, Newton Centre is getting some odd new businesses. A few months back a kick boxing type studio moved into an open store front on Union Street, but it is pretty random if it is open in the morning when you think it would be prime time. Now a martial arts studio is opening where Zoot’s moved out.
And a pharmacy is opening up on Union Street. I’m assuming it might be a compounding pharmacy. They all seem like such niche businesses
Coincidentally, here’s a story that the Globe just published that explains how some a building or store front can sit vacant for years, even in a hot real estate market.
MMQC, I agree. Even though it is something of a specialty place, Shoe Barn has saved us a bunch of times.
I’m also pretty fond of the city-scale smaller Targets, like the one in Roslindale. It feels like the return of the five-and-dime stores like Woolworth’s that anchored many a town center back in the day. I could easily imagine them as part of the mix on Washington St or Riverside. It would make mixed use much closer to self-sufficient, reducing car trips.
I’ve actually said the same thing about the small Targets! That would be something practical, especially on the Northside where retail is lacking. I was in Porter Square a few months ago and had to run into the little Target there and I found it really useful for a quick errand. I do love our small, independent businesses, but most of them are too niche to be practical.
(Oh, and the Barn is definitely useful in the neighborhood – I hope it doesn’t disappear!)
Mark Development has purchased the shoe barn and other buildings all the way down to Sweet Tomatoes.
I doubt the shoe barn can survive a long term “drought” of business. Newtonville Camera moved, and the Shoe barn will have to move
or go out of business.
I really think the people of Newton are underestimating the kind of changes that are going to happen along Washington Street in the not too distant future. It’s going to really change the mix of stores, and I’m afraid not for the better. More banks and chain franchises will be the only things that can afford the new rents.
Rick,
The Shoe Barn has talked publicly about the fact they they will have to relocate (or, I suppose, worse). As I said, they have been a great resource for us and other Newton families.
However, as for “changing the mix of stores”, let’s look at the businesses on the properties most likely to be developed in West Newton, along the Cheesecake Brook (apologies for changing locations from Northland).
According to Google Maps, we have:
* Brezniak Rodman Funeral Home
* Baby Koo (why there aren’t more baby stores in Newton, I have no idea, but baby stories would seem like an easy fit for new development)
* Newton Auto Group
* Enterprise Car Rental
* Safety Auto Glass
* Frost and Float Spa
* Sawasdee Thai massage therapist
* Collegewise of Greater Boston
* Christopher Eysie Custom Interiors
* JN Philips Auto Glass
* Shoe Barn
* Npc Repographics
* Eastern Insurance
All great businesses, I’m sure, but I’m not sure that a “change of mix of stores, and not for the better” is likely on this stretch of roadway.
A new Trader Joe’s, closer to West Newton Square? That would be pretty nice. Previously mentioned children’s store, great. A few more sit-down restaurants with outdoor seating (who knows, maybe the lovely Lumiere could move to newer digs?) . City Target (including food)? A bookstore (a surprisingly large number of new bookstore-cafes are emerging, like the one in Belmont Center)?. There isn’t a toy store this side of Newton Centre (see Belmont Center for an example), for the kid’s birthday party that needs a gift today. How about a specialty food store or butcher? Bakery? Or my dream combo, a bakery-bookstore-plant store with seating?
These possibilities aren’t hard to imagine at all, and would make the north side of the city significantly more self-sufficient for daily needs (which means walkable trips for local residents and bike rides or short drives for the next radius out).
On the other hand, you might have to drive to Waltham if you want your windshield replaced (or you’ll call a shop that comes to you).
Perspective is very important. I look at large development projects like Northland as opportunities to make Newton a better place to live and work. But the developers of these projects are, [as you would expect], focused on financial opportunity, not necessarily community betterment…
The key is to have a skilled and knowledgeable person [or team] negotiating with the developer on behalf of the city, to extract the absolute maximum value in exchange for Special Permits. Since Ted Hess-Mahan and Amy Sangiolo left the City Council, we don’t seem to have anyone with the knowledge or skill set to effectively negotiate with developers…
In my opinion, there are two concessions Newton absolutely must get from Northland in order to make this development work for the community…
1]. The Special Permit should require 30% of the residential units be affordable.
2]. Northland should provide Newton Public Schools with 15K square feet of educational space.
I understand these are not everyone’s priorities. There is some value to shuttle busses and other things that have been proposed. But if anyone would like to argue against requiring this particular developer to designate 30% of the housing units “affordable” [as defined by law], I’ll be glad to have that debate…
I also understand that the School Committee has not requested educational space be included in this development. As citizens, parents and trustees of our city’s future, we should not allow the School Committee to make that inexplicable and indefensible mistake.
I think we need more banks.
Rick Frank. I disagree. We need more nail salons.
Funny, I used to say the same thing about shoe stores in Newtonville. And now I miss them!
This bank/nail salon/hair salon/fitness center discussion is a common complaint. I get it. I use one bank. I’m not a fan of fitness centers/nails/hair. I’m loyal to my coffee shop and diner. Why is there a German Kitchen shop in Newtonville. I get stomach aches when eating burritos, and I’m on a diet so fresh bread is my enemy. I don’t wear glasses, and I rarely use a dry cleaner.
Fact is, tough to control the rental market. And we are our own worst enemy. Folks on this thread have talked about City Target. What will that do to the small retailers in the villages nearby? Convenient? Sure. But you want to know why small retail doesn’t survive, look in the mirror and at the amazon boxes in your recycling…
One way to deal with this? Build more mixed use with bottom floor retail. Why? More overall space either lowers rents or opens up space in older buildings for tenants looking to move up. And open space over time tends to be rented to new and interesting uses, especially B space.
If you answer is why build more retail because banks and nail salons will move in, well, sure, some might. But I assure you there is a market for nail salons and banks, and at some point you reach saturation and the next new popular store moves in, IF there are customers to support it, and if the online marketplace doesn’t do it better.
And this can take a long time. But I’m all for more space. Even if some of it is filled with stuff I don’t use, I’ll enjoy some of it, my neighbors might enjoy other portions, and if none of us do, it will go out of business. Circle of retail life.
FYI Baby Koo used to be located on Needham St next to Modell’s. Not sure why they moved though I never saw much activity there.
Fig,
I don’t know what actual small retailers City Target will put out of business. I think they are long gone. Target is a brick and mortar that has enough scale to compete with Amazon and stay in business (for now). Smaller general stores would be the most vulnerable.
I could see hardware stores or convenience stores being slightly impacted. Hardware stores have lots of other stuff (and other stronger competitors), and convenience stores get local business. Whole Foods might have some competition, I don’t think anyone will cry over that. On the other hand, businesses close to new retail magnets will benefit.
As I said before, Woolworth’s and Ben Franklin were some of the the traditional anchor store for town and village centers across the US. I see City Target as the natural successor.
And if we want to cut congestion in Newton, we have to put useful stores close enough to people so they walk, or maybe bike, or at worst take a short drive. We have to think village-level, not city level.
I miss the corner bodega from our old home.
What are useful stores, though? And can they be put in a radius that is walkable for everyone? Swartz hardware is useful, and folks in Nonantum can walk to it. But can another hardware store survive that’s walkable to my house? There used to be Harney Hardware over in West Newton, but that’s long gone. I never go to the bank anymore. I can deposit checks with my phone, all of my business is done online including filing my taxes; I hardly ever need cash, I can buy a cup off coffee with a credit card. Yet there’s so many banks you’d think they were as popular as coffee shops. Heck, they’re more popular as witness that Pete’s is now Chase Bank. The Atrium mall is now completely health care, if that’s any clue, Washington Place should be all doctors, dentists, and physical therapy. That’s what’s useful to me know LOL.
Four facts stick with me since the land use meeting on Tuesday night.
1. the $10 millions that Northland is willing to spend for putting wires underground. That is wonderful but it makes me wonder about the staggering amount of profit the developers will make. How much more can they throw our way? How much could they reduce the project and therefore make less of a huge profit?
2. Councillor Auchincloss being the only one pushing for the outcome we want (whatever that is). His point of concentrating on what we want and using that leverage to make the developers budge . Not the other way around.
3. Councillor Crossley seeming to give up the negotiations; saying that height was not an issue for her since giving up a 10-story and 8-story building would translate into more 4-story buildings. Why does it have to be? Why can’t we say no 8-story, no 10-story AND no more that x number of 4-story. In her defense, she also said it was impossible for her to say Yes to the project. I wish she could have asked for a new school or more affordable units and less buildings.
4. Residents were not given enough time to make their points while the developers go on and on without restriction of time. This development affects all of us, we should be heard.