I am the Chair of the Newton Council on Aging. Last night, we had our first meeting of the year, which was also one of the NewCAL Community Meetings. The meeting was attended by Mayor Fuller and Commissioners Colino, DeRubeis and Morse, members of the Council on Aging, and a very small number of members of the community.
The purpose of this letter is to apprise the community of what happened at our meeting last night.
Let me begin by saying as a Council, we are enormously grateful to Mayor Fuller for committing the personal and political capital necessary to support the construction of a new Senior Center.
Mayor Fuller started the meeting by recognizing that the proposal to site NewCAL at Albemarle has been met with vocal opposition from some members of our community. In recognition of the concerns that have been raised, Mayor Fuller announced last night that she has asked the Working Group to re-assess some of the sites that were removed from the list of potential sites – notably, the Newton Centre Triangle. She announced that other sites would be reconsidered as well, and indicated that the City remains open to other suggestions.
As Chair, I emphasized that the Council on Aging had not, as some have asserted, written a letter of support for siting NewCAL at Albemarle; we did write a letter of support for studying the feasibility of Albemarle. We stand by that letter of support.
Many of the Council on Aging members have attended the Community Meetings on NewCAL, and have heard the Community’s comments and concerns about siting NewCAL at Albemarle. Traffic, parking, lack of access to amenities, impact on FA Day students and abutters – we have heard all of these issues and more. We have also heard from many seniors who strongly support the site.
As a Council, we are firmly committed to the construction of a new Senior Center for the City. We outgrew the existing Senior Center some time ago, and the Senior population in Newton continues to grow.We recognize that in a city as densely populated as Newton, every site will have tradeoffs. We hope that those tradeoffs will not kill this desperately needed building.
As a Council, we will make every effort to keep the community more informed of what we are doing –starting with this letter. A new Senior Center has been at the top of our list of priorities for some time now, and we are grateful for a Mayor who has heard and recognized this need. My hope is that the City
will join with us in driving this project forward.
Is the scope of the project also being reconsidered? There was a significant public opposition to the size and cost of the building because it included a large gymnasium and pool. If those items are eliminated the site could be smaller.
I’m not surprised. Public sentiment was very clear. As a resident of Newton Centre I would love to see us host a new Senior Centre but not a NEWCal type community/recreational center. I am not a fan of the Newton Centre Triangle as I envision that being turned into a green space..perhaps a public garden.
I have posted this before but will do again. The current location of the Citizen’s Bank Building is just about perfect. Strike a deal with the Bank to brand it the Citizen’s Bank Senior Center at Newton Centre. Entice them with some great free publicity and some tax breaks. Let them locate a branch in the building
Another NC option is the building that houses the Health Department as a second location and renovate the existing Senior Centre.
A third option is the vacated Container Store building at Street.
So many possibilities!!
Kyle is right on target. If additional sites are reconsidered without also having a review of the scope of the project, we’ll be right back to where we started. With regard to the 10,000 square feet allocated to the gymnasium, for example, that component was only suggested by a few people during the “listening” sessions held by the Working Group. Josh Morse explained at he Parks and Rec Commission meeting that the large gym footprint made it difficult to fit the facility into the Newton Center triangle. Perhaps smaller dance studio sized rooms would be sufficient.
I have yet to hear any talk, too, about how much and what could be fit into a new building on the site of the current senior center on Walnut Street. Maybe not everything. But maybe not everything needs to be in the same structure.
Is the mayor open to suggestions for acquisition of privately owned space? She has supported using the city’s eminent domain authority to take the Webster Woods property from Boston College. Certainly, this senior center represents a public use that is at least as compelling. If we were to broaden our approach to include this option, there are many properties that are worth considering, like the Citizens Bank building in Newton Center. And there’s certainly nothing attractive about the properties located on the southwest corner of Walnut and Beacon Street. Indeed, the restaurant near that corner seems to go out of business every few years. That site would be within easy walking distance of Cold Spring Park, providing access to that amenity. And what about the 20 acres of the Andover Newton Theological Seminary property now owned by Gerald Chan. Given Chan’s record of philanthropy and concern for public health issues, perhaps an attractive deal could be struck there.
I agree with @Kyle … its time to revisit the NewCal concept vs that of a new Senior Center. I think many are in favor of the latter not the former. It’s a huge mistake by the Mayor to not take a step back on this.
Good news. Mayor Fuller has made a mistake with NewCAL and is owning up to it. Much appreciated.
It seemed like in the presentation there seemed to be quite a few multi purpose rooms which made me wonder is a gym on top of that needed. Is there a way to be a bit more creative about use of space where fitness classes could occur in those types of rooms without a dedicated gym. Or as others have mentioned partner with the Y or JCC or the Hyde Center
I think Andover Theological would be a great site. It’s close to the T. There are some pretty large buildings there in a very picturesque setting.
Last night I tried to access the live stream of the meeting and it was unavailable.
“Last night, we had our first meeting of the year, which was also one of the NewCAL Community Meetings. The meeting was attended by Mayor Fuller and Commissioners Colino, DeRubeis and Morse, members of the Council on Aging, and a very small number of members of the community.”
This explains a lot. The Mayor attended and limited the attendance. This was advertised as a public meeting…Not so much.
The Mayor would benefit from a legit listening tour. Then we might believe she is really listening and seeking options
As I wrote last month in my newsletter, locating the new building in Newton Centre is an opportunity to better serve seniors and to better plan & develop our biggest village.
Newton Centre would offer a more accessible site for seniors. And the construction of a public facility could be the focal point of a new zoning and transportation proposal for Newton Centre. Washington Street, Riverside, and Needham Street have all had vision plans; now is the time for Newton Centre’s vision plan.
With the wellbeing of seniors and the vitality of the village in mind, we could orient planning towards walkability. The AARP calls walkability “a major initiative” for its senior-citizen constituency. Indeed, it’s vital for all constituencies, including neighbors, shoppers, and business owners—anyone who wants to enjoy Newton’s biggest village.
Compelling ideas on that dimension include: undergrounding the triangle parking to construct a smaller senior center on top; partnering with developers to provide senior housing in conjunction with the center; and expanding or complementing Newton-in-Motion to provide a shuttle service for Newton Centre.
Yes, Jake, let’s absolutely look at the Newton Centre triangle. Meets a lot of the criteria. And, would add vitality to the village.
As for a Newton Centre visioning plan, next time you’re at City Hall, please ask to be allowed into the Mayor’s office. There’s a special closet full of binders, each of which contains a plan or study that has been developed with lots of volunteer time and then stuffed in the closet, before any action is taken. I think you’ll find a few filed under Centre, Newton.
Also, I thought it was a rule that proposing underground parking under the triangle was allowed only by people who have only lived here less than two years and don’t know any better.
Newton Center triangle? Isn’t that slated for 500 units of transit-oriented, high density housing?
Oh sorry, wrong part of the City.
Korff is offering up tacos to keep dumping on Newtonville…
Paul,
One of the great inequities of Newton is that Newton Centre was not the first village center to get redeveloped. If it’s any consolation, I bet that the city’s control over zoning will be so diminished by the time we get to Newton Centre (which won’t be long), that development will be much more intense than what Robert Korff manages to build in West Newton.
I am grateful to the Mayor for listening to feedback and going back to the drawing board. The Albemarle site was an inappropriate location and the public meetings I attended made that crystal clear.
I strongly support having a new senior center and hope this new process does lead to real progress. I also agree with others who have said we should re-evaluate scope as well.
Finally, I really hope the city keeps its commitment to rebuild Gath Pool independent of NewCAL.
I’ll avoid repeating other people but want to say that the ANTS site requires climbing a hill from the T stop that is taxing for much of the population the Senior Center serves. Many, if not most, seniors would have to drive to reach it due to it’s steepness.
Sorry to be cynical on that front, Bryan, but I predict that offer will be off the table faster than you can say “leaky pipes” if Albemarle is taken off the list. It was striking that a $9 million addition to the $16 million NewCAL appeared miraculously, moving up from a lower part of the city’s capital improvement plan into the next several year’s budget (with no indication which other project(s) would be pushed down.) The offer was clearly meant to buy community support and, indeed, support from the Parks and Recreation Commission.
Gath should be a high priority given its current usage and the potential for year-round usage if it were an indoor-outdoor pool. Maybe people should push their City Councilors on that issue.
Finally, let’s not give anyone credit for going back to the drawing board just yet. Let’s see what is really meant by her statement. Let’s start by surveying people in town to see what they really want and need and where they’d like it.
Why not use the former Mishkan Tefila temple building, in Webster Woods, for the new senior center (if the city succeeds in acquiring the property)
It’s great to hear that the mayor is open to considering options for the senior center that are not park sites. The meetings reflected the passion of the community for our park and open space. Many of the residents from preservenewtonparks.com were at the COA meeting last night to observe the proceedings and to engage on a deeper level with the city’s vision. I second many of the comments on here, especially the commitment to rebuild Gath Pool, which, as a daily user, I never knew had so many problems until they were revealed through this process. That will be part of the focus of the new group Friends of Albemarle – please join us! https://forms.gle/v4NVj9L6RV7Zcvjd6
@Ann: The former temple building is not targeted for acquisition, only the green space adjacent to it. The building has been renovated and is actively used by BC as an arts center.
Seems to me that many of the problems of siting and funding could be solved if the NewCAL Working Group and Council on Aging were willing to consider multiple Senior Center locations. Director Colino was adamantly unwilling to discuss “decentralizing” the Senior Center when the question was asked at Monday’s community meeting. Yet our high schools, due to population and geography, are decentralized.
When roughly 1/3 of our population reaches senior age, as Mayor Fuller states will happen in the next decade, that demographic will be equivalent to the total population of the town of Needham. Yet our COA has been using surrounding towns such as Needham, Wellesley and Natick (all towns with one high school) as the model for our future Senior Center.
A massive Senior Center designed to serve the needs of 30,000 seniors is not going to fit within any reasonable existing space in a city as densely populated as Newton; all park land should be removed from consideration due to aforementioned dense population. I hope the Council and Mayor will consider multiple Senior Center locations as a way to best serve the needs of our city’s seniors while maintaining the resources that make Newton unique.
If one positive thing comes of this, it is the creation of the Friends of Albemarle. Thanks to Cedar and whoever else was involved in that coming to fruition, our parks deserve our love and support. Having people volunteer to make sure we are good stewards of them is a wonderful development.
I’m in support of providing robust senior services in a comfortable setting in our community. My parents are active users of senior centers in their community. I think that this is a valuable and necessary resource. That said, I think that it is abundantly clear from the many questions raised about process, scoping, and cost (both capital and long-term operating) that much work remains to be done. I don’t believe anyone is against building a senior center, but I think many people are concerned about the idea of building on parkland (and of the precedent this would establish for other municipal projects down the road). I am glad to hear that the working group has been asked to revisit site locations.
I hope they will consider open meetings, or at the very least, more timely publication of meeting minutes and materials. I hope, too, that they and the Council on Aging will consider whether outreach in the earlier part of the process was sufficient. For example, we receive a bi-monthly Senior Newsletter, sent out by the Council on Aging. Not a single issue to date has included any information about this project – no updates on process or progress. Indeed, the newsletter’s calendar listings haven’t even included any of the public meetings or information about the previously mentioned listening sessions. This newsletter is presumably mailed to most Newton households with seniors. We receive it. I don’t understand why there has been no attempt to use it as a communication channel. Please, let’s use these channels to open things up for broad community engagement and comment.
@Roche,
I am older ( and more experienced), than a two year old, and I do know better , (than you).
To dump another housing pile on the Newton Center triangle would be a mistaken urban design travesty of the first order.
I would look to the gorgeous park / multilevel underground garage at Boston’s Post Office Square as the example / model we should / could follow.
Create an iconic New England village green with an increased density of commercial activity at its perimeter and site a new Senior Center in Citizens Bank front yard, reinforcing the sense of closure about the “green”.
Blueprintbill,
Totally agree, if Newton Centre had the density of Boston’s Post Office square, an underground parking lot would absolutely make sense.
Love your idea of density surrounding a triangle of green space, including a senior center at the Citizens Bank or any other currently commercial lot in Newton Centre, but how are you going to pay for land acquisition plus offsetting the lost tax revenue from the Citizens Bank building?
Also, I intended “here” before “two years” in my comment. I have since added it. It isn’t about age, but how long you’ve lived here.
I live in Newton Centre and would love the idea of building a senior center in the area if it’s open to non seniors during off peak times.
I will raise the suggestion I have made in the past and have re-raised with the committee: give the police a new home and use the West Newton police station as the senior center site.
A new police station has an urgency almost on par with a new senior center. The existing station is too small, the annex splits the department in a way that forces travel between the two sites. Parking is insufficient for the station but burdensome on West Newton Square (at the main station and on Davis St by the annex). There was an abandoned Mark Development proposal to swap land and redevelop the station, but that design was unpopular in part because it took over Capt. Ryan park.
Why is the NPD site good for the senior center? Great location: near the theater, near the Chinese Cultural Association and Family Access, near the CVS and post office. Near West Newton Square, which will be the most universally accessible, pedestrian friendly, well-lit, and tree-planted village in Newton after the enhancement project is done. The Senior Center would be mutually beneficial for local businesses.
Capt. Ryan Park offers green space and provides outdoor space for activities. It could revitalized as part of the project. Parking is relatively plentiful on-site, and could benefit the square when not in use by the senior center. Off-street senior van service is easy. Traffic impacts would be less than the existing police station; you might even be able to close off the Cherry St entrance. There’s access to transit, including express buses to Boston (Chinatown and downtown).
The site includes a current 7500 sq ft garage that is bigger than any other gym north of the pike. It is separate from the main building, so it could serve as a community resource without security issues. The main building has a 5,200 sq ft footprint, with either three or four floors now (I can’t tell for sure). Mark Development had proposed set-back extra stories above the existing building with a rooftop cafe, which would be a pretty awesome feature but perhaps unneeded.
The committee has looked at this site, and found fitting their existing plan onto the site and moving the police station over to Crafts (and DPW over to Elliot) would be very expensive, far more than the Senior Center. And I could imagine. Most of that is the police station and DPW part.
But West Newton Square offers lots of unique advantages for a senior center, perhaps offsetting the elements of the existing NewCAL design that might not translate to the new site. It seems by far bigger and better than the existing building.
And we need to figure out the police station sometime. It will be expensive no matter what we do. That’s probably its own override, which could be combined with the senior center to address people’s critiques about funding.
And while we’re figuring out the police station, let’s consider if we want a monolithic one, and ask the police if they can improve response by having two smaller stations in the north and south of the city. Or if they could have a better maintenance facility off-site.
I’ll end by saying I’m not a senior center user, nor a police officer, nor an architect. I accept there are reasons why this plan might not work. But this is a good site, the police deserve a modern station (at least one!), and voters might well accept that public safety and seniors are an important investment.
Mike Halle’s suggestion makes sense but it brings me to another question about the Family Access building. Does the preschool use the entire building or is there something else goes on in the building? It seems like a big building to only house a preschool.
I’ve lived in multiple locations in Newton for the past 44 years and consequently feel qualified to comment.
The land in front of the Citizens bank is across a public way from the bank property and as it is almost impossible for an old guy like me to navigate the city website to access the assessors data base I can only assume that that parcel is public property, and not therefor subject to an expensive taking.
The Post Office Square garage is at least 6 stories deep and in scale with the development around it. Going down 2 stories in the triangle I’m sure would be well in scale with the kind of development the city will afford itself here. If a new senior center were built here there would no doubt be a demand for such a parking facility.
I’m with Blueprint Bill on turning the Newton Centre parking area into another Post Office Square park with a garage underground. Using valuable land for above ground parking is a 20th century idea who’s time has past.
A lot of garages in downtown Boston are utilized by car rental companies and I’m sure if the city built a large garage underground it would get plenty of use from them and other car related services.
As Jim Cote suggested a while back, why do we have to construct a huge senior center when there are city facilities scattered around town which can be utilized in an Olympic Village type of arrangement. Or private buildings if need be.
Couldn’t the city schedule some exercise classes for seniors in conjunction with many of the private health clubs/recreational facilities in the city if the seniors need “gym” space.
It would be great to have a brand new senior center, a new Gath Pool, a new police station, new elementary schools and new middle schools, but we have to be realistic. IMHO.
BluePrintBill. I’m not thinking the land in front of the Citizen’s Bank Building. I’m saying the land that that building sits ON. The land in front is a public park and I think that issue has been put to bed. Honestly the building is a eyesore and I’m sure that the city and the back could negotiate a mutually beneficial deal. The location is ideal.
I don’t think Newton needs to build an underground garage. So much of Newton Centre’s valuable footprint is taken up by parking lots. What a terrible waste. Instead build low rise (3 story) garages at the Pelham, Pleasant and Cypress Street lots which would more that replace the Newton Triangle lot so that it can be turned into a public garden type space.
Win/Win. We get a Senior Center AND a new park.
Working Group kind of being thrown under the bus here. After being coerced into a rushed recommendation of Albemarle, they’re now being blamed for picking Albemarle. From the mayor’s newsletter today:
And after not keeping any minutes for the Working Group meeting at which Albemarle was selected (after I’d obtained through a public records request, and distributed, minutes of 2018 and 2019 meetings, and after public interest was high), they will now be keeping minutes and posting them online:
Good news!
As a senior and longtime Newton Centre resident, I’m amazed to see any support at all for placing NewCAL in the Newton Centre triangle. Even if parking is placed underground, cars entering and exiting the parking area will add greatly to the already daunting traffic problems in the village. The character of the village Green will also be jeopardized.
If we want to preserve what remains of Newton’s village character, NewCAL needs to be reduced in scale *and* decentralized. There are smaller sites in several of the villages, including charming older buildings in need of repurposing like the old Newton Centre library, that could house services for seniors and also be used for other community functions. Many of these are near existing T stops and bus stops. Operated in conjunction with a sophisticated and user-friendly website, a dispersed NewCAL could actually offer the best experience for seniors, contribute to the revitalization of villages that need revitalizing, and avoid overburdening villages that are already overwhelmed by traffic.
Before anytime is spent worrying about where to place the facility the committee and the public need to come to a consensus on a budget and scope. I’m afraid the mayors approach of comparing and adjust the facility based on each site will lead to an extremely expensive project which will be difficult for the public to support. Below is a quote from the mayors email:
“We will be open-minded about the NewCAL facility (the sizes of the gym, of the dance/yoga/Zumba wellness room, of the cafetorium, etc.) to understand what NewCAL would look like at different locations.”
Does anyone know what the next steps are with this? I don’t for a minute think that the Newton Centre Triangle will be seriously considered. I think it was just thrown into the mix because a few folks brought it up in some of the “listening” sessions and the Mayor and NEWCal working group needed to turn down the temperature. I see nothing on the NewCal website about any future meetings.
Next steps remain remarkably vague, beyond some consideration of the Newton Centre triangle. But there is no indication that the team will actively survey Newton seniors as to what services and programs they really want and where in town they would like them located.
Hi Paul,
You find this of interest:
http://www.newtonma.gov/civicax/filebank/documents/74184
Thanks, @Beth. It’s a good study (based on a random sample in 2014), but, unless I am reading it wrong, I don’t think it gets at the current set of questions, i.e., what services and programs do the seniors want at the senior center and where in town would they like them offered. Read pages 55 and following. Excerpts:
“Despite the benefits that many older Newton residents could potentially realize by participating in programs and services provided by the Department of Senior Services, a relatively small percentage of survey respondents said that they currently used these resources. Among all Seniors, only 17% of respondents said that they currently use programs and services offered.
“Among Seniors who said that they do not currently participate in programs and services offered by the Department of Senior Services, 32% stated that they were “not interested”; 18% stated that they were “not old enough”; 21% said they “participated in programs elsewhere”; and 27% stated that they “don’t identify with the word ‘senior.’”
“All survey participants were asked to identify problems they or someone they know experienced when accessing the Senior Center or its programs and services. The largest proportion of all respondents (16%) stated that not knowing about the availability of programs and services was a barrier, followed by lack of sufficient parking (14%).
“It remains important for agencies that serve older people to maintain an open, proactive approach to planning and development to assure that programs and services remain appropriate and desired by current and evolving cohorts.”
It is to this last sentiment that I make the suggestion I have made.
Here is a membership list of the Working Group
https://newcal.projects.nv5.com/download/project_team_newcal/2019.08.30-NewCAL-Working-Group-Membership.pdf
@Paul
Here is some more recent data from Dec 2018. 4% of survey respondents wanted a gym. 1% wanted a pool
https://newcal.projects.nv5.com/download/program_design/2018-12-04-NewCAL-Questionnaire-Analysis.pdf