Boston University journalist Sarah Finkel explores in a Globe story the two potential locations for a new senior center: the existing building at 345 Walnut St. or the Newton Centre Triangle parking lot.
NewCAL: Newtonville or Newton Centre?
by Village 14 | Mar 6, 2020 | NewCAL, Newton Centre, Newtonville | 15 comments
I vote for an earth-sheltered structure in the Newton Centre parking lot.
Newton centre is such a prime location that the city could sell a 100 yr land lease on condition of a senior centre, under ground parking for business and however many stories a developer needs to turn a profit on rentals
Just imagine if we could be really creative and add adjacent senior housing to the mix.
As an example, look at what is happening in Brookline in a joint venture between 2Life Communities and Congregation Kehillath Israel:
“The Harold and Ronald Brown Family House, a state of the art, sustainable building will offer contemporary, fully-equipped apartments, 2Life’s award-winning programs and services, and inviting common areas.
“The Brown Family House will be connected to Congregation Kehillath Israel (KI) and in addition to 2Life programs, KI and its campus partners will offer social, wellness and educational programs to the wider community, welcoming people of all ages and backgrounds. Brown Family House residents will also have access to the programs and services offered around the corner at the Brookline Senior Center.”
https://www.2lifecommunities.org/brown-family-house
Marian Knapp has made a number of useful suggestions along these lines. A bit of those here: https://village14.com/2019/12/11/knapps-vision-for-a-new-senior-center/#axzz6G0fK2HFu
Newton centre triangle would be super, with underground parking. There is also a 9000 sq ft lot at 12-14 Lyman street that is owned by the newton Community Development Foundation, currently used as a parking lot, that could be used for senior housing. Walking distance to a beautiful park across centre street.
Either one seems like a good choice, as they are both close to the center of the city and in a village center. This allows for seniors to have authentic intergenerational interactions as part of their experience.
This sentence scares the daylights out of me…
“With an expected 8-10 year timespan for completion, Morse said, the triangle lot will require more time and a higher budget but potentially could boost Newton Centre’s appeal.”
It took from 2011 until 2019 to have hearings, public comment, more public comment, bidding, design and law suits for Austin Street. So, mike Striar, if you can help fix the broken process, and it is broken, I’m all ears. 8 to 10 years sounds about right, given the zoning, conservation, and other hearings the City will go through on a piece of land we already own. Not to mention the people who will complain about the elimination of surface parking, and the inconvenience that building anything will cause. Ask Chuck Eisenberg.
@Jack–
I live in Newton Centre and would welcome NewCAL. My primary concern would be the length of time local businesses would be negatively impacted by construction. That part of the timeline needs clarification.
I don’t have much to suggest in terms of speeding up the existing process, because government moves at a snail’s pace. But one thing that does come to mind is to wrap the entire proposal [zoning changes, funding, etc] into a single ballot initiative after a period of public hearings. That could speed up the process by years.
How many parking spaces are there in the Newton Centre Triangle vs. the number of spaces taken out of service at Austin Street during that construction? Newtonville businesses seemed to survive.
Both locations are terrific options. My understanding is that for either location there will be a parking solution in place *before* any construction starts on NewCal.
In addition, at the last council on aging meeting we discussed ways to support local businesses especially during construction. We’d love V14 ideas/advice — would a loyalty card or something like that be helpful to show local businesses that NewCal members are/will be an asset and that we will help mitigate any disruptions? Lots of us patronize restaurants and shops etc, but maybe the local owners don’t recognize the size of this market?
I would like to see the Newton Centre triangle re-envisioned as public open space with parking beneath. Placing a park with performance space, cafe seating, food trucks, a beer garden would enhance the entire community’s experience of the area — while drawing more people to surrounding businesses.
The best way to mitigate parking disruptions is to implement the relevant sections of the Newton Centre Parking Strategy:
http://www.newtonma.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=84476
Specifically, make the square more walkable first. Then more people will walk and bike there. And moreover, people can park more places in the square and walk to their (possibly multiple) destinations. That would allow more spots near a new Senior Center to be reserved for the mobility impaired.
Putting a Senior Center in the middle of today’s Newton Centre, which is inconvenient and hazardous to pedestrians of all ages and abilities, would be a huge missed opportunity.
Why not consider the Riverside development or the Northland development for NewCAL? Both sites are huge and haven’t yet been built. Both say they want to provide benefits to the city, also.
Could the Hyde Community center be expanded? Why not use/merge the Newton housing authority building and Hyde center into a larger facility? Even if you cut Hyde field in half?
Why not locate NewCAL at the Riverside development or Northland. Both have huge amounts of space and are building anyway.