I’ve been watching the Northland debate on the sidelines for months and for the most part I haven’t chimed in, but I have to say that I am quite disappointed, saddened and ashamed at many of the arguments on the No side. I grew up in Newton, went to Newton public schools from K-12, now I live here and I am raising my family here (my son is in kindergarten at Zervas and my daughter will soon follow) and I also have my business here. So I am quite invested in our community.
As someone who has dedicated my entire career to building affordable housing combined with my strong personal belief that creating housing opportunities for all is our society’s collective obligation, a yes vote means so much to me on so many levels.
No plan is perfect. Do I wish Northland had at least 20%+ affordability that would serve lower incomes too? Yes. Do I wish that there were more two and three bedroom apartments for families, especially on the affordable side? Absolutely. But like everything in life, we can’t let perfection be the enemy of the good – in this case, I would say the enemy of the great.
We live in a city, not a small rural town, and our expectations for our City need to be aligned with the fact that for cities to be successful and inclusive they must inherently change and grow. If you want to live in and reap the benefits of a city (fun places to go out and eat, commercial opportunities, great academic institutions, etc.), change is something that we all must accept. Lots of individuals don’t accept those things and many of them live further out in places that don’t have our amenities. Newton is surrounded by two major highways and has multiple light rail, commuter rail, bus lines, and other public mass transit options (shared bikes! uber and lyft that arrive in minutes). We has room to accommodate many more people here. If you think we have a messed up public transit system pay a visit to Philly or Detroit or Charlotte and you’ll think the T was sent down from heaven.
Northland’s units will add more diversity to our City – period, end of story The market rate units will help relieve supply constraints and will help stabilize and reduce housing costs. There are enough units in this development to actually make a material difference in the overall market. It is basic supply and demand microeconomics that has been reiterated by academic study after academic study.
Will there be more traffic? Definitely! Will it be total gridlock? Absolutely not. A deal that creates gridlock where no one would want to go is totally unfinanceable. No lender or equity provider is going to provide hundreds of millions of dollars to this deal if they thought the deal would be a place where no worker or resident would want to work or live. And certainly Northand wouldn’t provide the massive guarantees and their own equity they will need to provide to attract those investors and lenders. So if I have to sit in a few additional minutes of traffic for my community to receive the benefits afforded by this development then I’m more than happy to sacrifice those extra few minutes of my life on a daily basis. Because this is not just about me, it’s about all of us, including those who can’t afford to currently live here and those who live here but might not be able to soon.
Lastly, I keep hearing about how the schools can’t take any more kids. I’d welcome more kids in my son’s classroom if it means he will be surrounded by students of different ethnicities and income levels. Or even if their families just became fun new friends. When I attended Zervas, our 5th and 6th grade classes were combined with only two teachers. No aides, no specialists, etc. We had 44 kids in our one class and our classroom was the auditorium separated by a sliding wall. We only had two teachers. I had an amazing public school experience and all of my classmates ended up doing great things in this world. (Bonus points for anyone who can pick me out in the picture!)
Can Northland probably do a massive 40B on this site if this referendum doesn’t pass? As a longtime friendly 40B developer, I would think they could. But that is not the reason to vote yes for this plan. The reason to vote yes for this plan is because this is a great plan – we shouldn’t let perfection be the enemy of the great.
Jason Korb is the principal of Capstone Communities LLC where he has developed market rate, mixed income, and 100% affordable housing.
Kudos for the disclosure.
It’s no surprise a developer (the author) supports development.
Many valid points and it does come down to how much negative impact you are willing to accept and if you feel
.. if you feel Northland is taking advantage of our residents.
Obviously, if your profession is real estate development (and benefit financially from more development) then of course you are willing to put up with some negatives…
On the other hand, if you are middle class and saved all your money (ie you sacrificed alot to live in Newton) so your child can have the best education you can afford then perhaps adding 30% more kids to their class may seem unacceptable to you.
And NO ONE should be made guilty over wanting to provide the best education for their kids..
Luckily, this will all be over on Tuesday.
For what it’s worth, Jason is one of my goto people when I want to better understand how development works, what a good development deal looks like for the city, and what is possible with affordable housing. When I heard about the city’s purchase of the armory, Jason’s advice and experience rehabbing an armory into affordable housing was incredibly helpful for me.
“Great”? Did he really call Northland a “great” project?
When I read a commentary like that it makes me sad that I have to vote Yes, because a No vote will be a disaster for Newton. But pretending this is somehow a “great” project really lets the City Council off the hook for crafting such a mediocre deal with the developer. And when City Council members read a commentary like this, it makes it more likely they will fall short in future negotiations with developers.
Vote Yes… but hold the City Council responsible for the weak deal they negotiated with Northland.
Interesting side note: I’m seeing that 6 out of 12 threads on the current ‘page’ are pro-Northland. And Greg, before you scrub this, I ask, since I’m not ‘allowed’ to start my own thread, exactly WHERE to post this observation? Thank you.
Pat, you can start your own thread, just email Jerry. Certainly RSN has been invited multiple times.
I drove through NYC today, where I grew up and lived before moving to Newton. My suggestion is those of you who need development and density to be happy simply move to the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, or Manhattan.
Ok, so the Northland proposal is “great”? #GoodGriefCharlieBrown
Can’t wait till Tuesday is over.
It’s not that the Northland proposal is great; rather, it’s a good proposal in the right location for what it is. Having observed the City Council in action for 12 years as a member of the Planning Board, I was always amazed at the backwards nature of the zoning process–how projects drive zoning and not the other way around.
And, the council itself is in a sense weak, not because of the individual councilors, those that I have met and observed are committed to the well-being of the city, but because the collective group is terrified of saying no to large developers. Developers know this and the patient ones get what they want.
I remember a key reason I liked the MU4 zone was the required scaling of the streetfront heights, which the Board promptly waived (to my memory) at Washington Place. It doesn’t mean Washington Place isn’t right for the location, but it shows that the collective council folded.
As voters, we need to ensure a council that understands the meaning of “special” in the context of a special permit, otherwise, special will really mean “by right” for those with money.
As a near-abutter, I applaud your comments and look forward to the amenities that the NUF community will enjoy.
It’s also important to note that this is the endgame: a No vote means a much larger development with fewer amenities. For some reason the RightSize people think Northland will negotiate again, just like Charlie Brown and the football. It’s not happening.
And call me selfish, but I am also looking forward to the inevitable increase in the value of my home (relative to the rest of Newton) once NUF becomes a vibrant community instead of being bordered by an empty parking lot.