West Newton is on Washington Street with a smaller gym, no pool or tennis. The Wellesley site near Babson College on Great Plain Avenue includes tennis, with five indoor courts, compared to four at Wells Avenue.
A Brookline-based real estate partnership, G&Z RE Investment, owns the 6-acre Wells Avenue property. It was purchased in 2017 for $15 million according to Newton city records, following an attempt by Cabot Cabot & Forbes to rezone the land to build a proposed 334 units of housing.
On June 15th, BSC’s parent company Town Sports International Holdings Inc. said via a federal 8-K filing that it was seeking additional capital and reviewing strategic options. The NASDAQ-listed company said its board is actively considering alternatives, adding that it faced a November debt payment deadline and the possibility of filing for bankruptcy protection. More than 90 percent of its locations were closed in March because of pandemic precautions and 9 in Florida are now open, the company reported.
BSC’s lease for Wells Avenue expires in 2023 but has a 180-day termination clause, according to open source real estate website, BLDup.com. And the facility does have a loyal following.
A June 6th email from “a former member, former employee, and local business owner” said that BSC would be shuttered and asked members to participate in a survey, expressing hope to retain and update the facilities. Adam DiTullio is a youth sports coach and owner of Coach Adam Inc. based in Somerville. In that email, he said the gym “has been a part of Newton for over 30 years and we would like it to stay!”
Calls to DiTullio and agents for G&Z executives were not answered on Friday.
 Dear Newton Member, We hope this email finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy. On behalf of Town Sports International, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close the Newton location. This decision was a difficult one, but all isn’t lost. Effective immediately, your membership has been upgraded to Elite at your current rate with your new “home” club, Wellesley – only 5.1 miles away! By having an Elite Membership, you’ll be able to work out in all of our over 160 locations – from DC and Maryland to New York, Boston, Florida, California and yes, even Puerto Rico. Our Wellesley location is right on Babson’s College campus and offers indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis and basketball courts, kids programming, babysitting and so much more! For more information about our Sports Clubs and all we have to offer, visit us at www.bostonsportsclubs.com. We want to make this transition as easy as possible, so you won’t need to do anything. Your membership will automatically be transferred to Wellesley so all you have to do is visit us at any location once we’re back up and running to work out. Additionally, we’re giving you the ability to try this surrounding club without being billed until 9/1. You can reach out to James Mahoney, our Business Director at [email protected] for more information about billing or your membership. If for any reason Wellesley is not a good fit, the West Newton club is also in your vicinity. We understand this is a lot to take in but we’re hoping this gives you something to look forward to as you continue your fitness journey with us once we reopen our clubs. Again, we will miss being a part of the Newton community but we’re hoping that you’re just as excited as we are to get back into working out and introducing you into our Elite family. Remember, we’re in this together. See you soon! Member Services |
What a depressing blight Wells Ave. is – I wish they would get serious about plowing it down and replacing it with something new and useful. At this point there really is nobody in a legitimate position to complain.
It would be a wonderful place to let a natural forest regrow.
A blight inside and out – they were taking very poor care of the outside of the property. Lots of trash every time I visited. I complained many times but they never did anything.
Shame about that club and the favorite pair of running shoes that sit in my locker there, which I assume I’ll never see again.
But Michael perhaps you haven’t been on Wells in a while. Several owners have upgraded their properties significantly.
And the city has received a grant for shuttle bus service that I hope will happen once things return to more normal.
Still need some amenities but let’s not lose track of the significant property tax revenue that area generates.
@Greg: I think Michael was referring specifically to the BSC property.
BTW, does anyone know what’s happening with 2 Wells Ave (the fancy new building)? It’s been sitting vacant for a long time, many months before COVID-19. It looks like very good office space, so I’m surprised.
Hmm. Perhaps. Maybe Michael can clarify.
Bright Horizons is moving their corporate HQ to 2 Wells. Like many things, it’s been delayed.
Newtoner, sorry for the lack of clarity – as Greg inferred I was indeed referring to the entirety of Wells Ave.
Greg, the last time I was either last summer or the summer before, always as a pedestrian, which is probably the reason I think it’s such a dump. Not sure what kind of subsequent building expansion or cladding could transform its overall disposition as a less defoliated version of its ugly industrial-park cousin across the river in Needham, but I’ll try to check it out again this weekend, thanks for the heads-up.
One thing they could look at, in lieu of my destructionist approach, would be to at least improve pedestrian and cyclist connectivity at the triangle of Wells Ave., UMass Mt. Ida, and Oak Hill Park.
Because Nahanton Street has never had any sidewalks, I use Wells Ave. as a pedestrian cut-through to Brookline Ave. by hiking up the bramble-covered and often muddy cliff behind BSC. With BSC shutting down, this could be an opportunity to improve access via a new ramp or staircase, which could potentially open up both Wells Ave. and UMass to the 52 bus, fewer than 500 feet away at Wiswall & Walsh.
A good time to connect Wells Ave through the BSC property to Carlson Ave. leading out to Dedham st and Brookline street. Giving another access road to the area, reducing the mess at the Wells Ave/Nahanton st intersection and improving its location (Wells Ave) for housing.
The lack of a sidewalk on Nahanton Street is a real shame. Carlson Ave inside UMass also has a section without a sidewalk, which is very strange for a college campus.
Michael,
No need to scramble up that slope: there is a trail connecting the Helen Heyn Riverway Trail to the Brook Farm Path (along the Soloman Schecter school) to either the Millenium Park or to Baker St (past the Gethsemani cemetery) in W Roxbury.
Let’s hope all the trees on 135 Wells are saved.
Thanks Isabelle, I’ve used that trail to get over to West Roxbury but my scramble up and down the slope behind BSC has been when I’ve been headed in a more easterly direction to and from Brookline St. and onward to Wegman’s, Brookline Village, etc. That trail behind SSDS is great though.
FWIW, another couple of great pedestrian and walk-your-bike cut-throughs in the area are:
1) This one I added to Jim Lerner’s map of low-traffic bike routes through Newton:
2) A slightly-overgrown trail at the base of Marla Circle through the Saw Mill Brook Conversation Area (with steps alongside which you can push your bike), opening via a sharp right turn into the amazingly beautiful St. Joseph Cemetery and the banks of Saw Mill Brook, allowing onward connectivity via the wide and empty sidewalks of VFW Parkway – great for safely walking/jogging/cycling from Oak Hill to Hancock Village, Allandale Woods, Jamaica Pond, the Arboretum, Forest Hills & the Southwest Corridor Park, Washington St. through Egleston and Nubian into the city, etc.
“Saw Mill Brook Conversation Area.” Good one!
@Greg-
I agree with you. If anything the area has improved. Lots of potential on Wells Ave in the short & long term. It’s a pretty good location for the right businesses and companies. I’m amazed at the variety of entities in that small, concentrated area-
A Medical outpatient facility, biotech companies, a hospice, Russian school of mathematics, a small college, a day school…
There’s a lot going on over there!
@Greg Do we know when Bright Horizons is targeting to move in? I assume it will be pushed into 2021
Also – get those shoes back before they are gone forever