Millions of bits and gallons of ink were spilled debating the virtues and vices of the Austin Street and Trio mixed use developments in Newtonville, back when those projects were on the planning table.
Both projects have been completed for a while now …. so what do you think?
What do you love about these projects? What do you hate? Do you think these projects and the other recent Newtonville municipal improvements have improved the village or been a step backwards?
What do you make of Newtonville today vs Newtonville circa 2017?
I have a fabulous impression of both Austin Street and Trio. In my opinion, both of those projects make Newton a better place to live and work.
Here are two points that others might miss…
1.] The city’s $200M investment in Newton North High School was a key factor in Newtonville’s renaissance. It was a worthwhile investment that I’m proud to have supported as a mayoral candidate in 2005.
2.] The land values associated with projects like Trio, indicate that it is financially viable to further develop the air-rights over the Pike. Developing those air-rights could create thousands of housing units, hundreds of jobs, and provide about $50M in annual property tax revenue for the city.
I miss 2017. The rents are so high that empty storefronts remain for years. The removal of a middle lane down Walnut Street has really added to traffic (not to mention the curb carveouts that make it harder to parallel park).
@Mike Striar, I agree with you re: Austin St. and Trio. I’m not sure if the economics work, but covering the Pike would would be a huge win for Newtonville.
A few points:
Newtonville today is far better than Newtonville 2017. Even with the pandemic, it is a much more activated public space, it has more places to sit, more gathering spaces (public areas at Trio and next to Austin Street), wider sidewalks, much better lighting. During last summer and fall, every night families would be outside Los Amigos and Ranc’s for hours, and during the days the various coffee shops filled the new pocket park at Austin Street.
We now have Clover, MIDA, La Posta, Chipotle, a soon to come bigger Los Amigos, Henry Bear Park, a renovated CVS with free parking, Cafe Nero, a soon to come fancy Japanese restaurant, and whatever will fill the Los Amigos space. Considering the pandemic, this is amazing. I know there has been some closures (for instance, Cook and Rox Diner, both of which I miss terribly). But all in all, the future looks bright for retail in Newtonville.
I do want to address some of the folks who were very vocal about the negative future of Newtonville when Trio and Austin Street were being built. There were predictions of parking problems and unbearable traffic. None of those came to pass. The lot under Austin Street is mostly empty. It is such a nothingburger that Down Under Yoga’s owners bought their building and want to develop a project with even LESS parking than Austin Street! Considering their vocal opposition to Austin Street due to parking issues, that’s a pretty good example of how far the debate has moved.
Trio has been a great addition on the North side as well. It is great to have the free parking lot in the back for the retail spaces, and the public plaza is nice when I eat at Clover with my kids. Love the Newton Art Center’s space there too, and MIDA’s bar (and brunch!).
But my main happiness is being able to walk to Newtonville on a nice night, eat outside (PLEASE KEEP OUTSIDE EATING AREAS), get an ice cream and eat on a park bench, drink my coffee with someone in the Austin Street pocket park (we need an official name for that mini-park). Newtonville in 2017 was basically a commuter village. A place to run errands. Now there are places to gather and it feels more like the center of a community. Considering the impact the Pike had on the Village, the fact that some amount of cohesion could be created is tremendous.
Mike is right about the impact of the high school. It is also why eliminating that middle lane was important. The village now moves a bit more slowly without that middle lane, but it is safer for pedestrians and especially our middle schoolers and high schoolers who walk through it multiple times a day.
And I’ve begun to notice the little changes too. The repaired bus shelter with new lights on the corner of Austin Street and Walnut. The great mural. The better signage.
I know there are folks who disagree with the above. Heck, if you attend the Newtonville Area Council meetings, all you would hear would be the complaints (maybe that is why so few people want to serve on the Area Councils these days). And that’s fine. Nothing is perfect. But overall, I’m very happy for the changes, and they have allowed my family and me to use the village more, to gather in the village more often, and to do so in safer manner.
I look forward to new retail tenants this spring after Covid begins to wind down (hopefully) and to making the Austin pocket Park between starbucks and Cafe Nero permanent, even if the city has to get involved.
Thank you to the city workers who worked for many years to plan and push the Walnut rehab project past the finished line. Never easy to get ANYTHING done in Newton. Great job.
I could write a bunch of stuff, but Fig covered it all. People tend to fear change, but then when it’s done they often realize that the changes were for the better.
@fignewtonville. Very well said and you forgot to mention that Union Pharmacy is opening in Newtonville in the coming months, and the future development of the old CVS site and the potential for an expanded Down Under Yoga. Instead of the doom and gloom predicted by some, the traffic pattern is far more conducive to EVERYONE; walkers, bicyclists, and even motorists. I personally do not see any real difference in traffic and I pass through there multiple times per day.
There is more parking than ever, and the parking lots behind Austin St and Trio always have spots. The public spaces (surrounded by multiple places to eat) are better than anyplace in Newton including Newton Center (IMHO). And while we can argue the regulations that set LMI housing rules, we have over 60 new units for LMI renters.
There is always room for improvement, and we can continue to push developers on the personal subject of aesthetics, but we are in a far better place than we have been in a very long time.
As to your comments on the NAC, it is really a shame that they have lost their way and no longer support the broad voices of the community. There is so much opportunity out there still and they could be a strong voice for Newtonville, but instead view nearly every change as a further degradation in how the way things were.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Well done Fignewtonville!
I would like to see the % increase in non-ev car registrations in the code. How much pollution has been imported into neighborhood?
Congrats to the developer for a supurb return on investment. The hedge funds backing the loans thank Newton for their giant bonuses.
No opinion on whether these projects improved or detracted from Newtonville?
oh, definitely improvement over what was previous. This fact is indisputable.
But it’s not a reason to keep increasing the density in this area without considering school crowding, increasing property taxes and the inequitable distribution of density within Newton so far.
As for additional pollution you mention, yes the pollution for any additional cars associated with those new 200 units of housing is indeed real … but you’d be hard pressed to calculate it.
With the cars from Newtonville’s 5000+ existing households and the exhaust from 100K daily trips through Newtonville by Pike drivers, the additional Trio/Austin St cars’ exhaust is way down in the noise.
which is a nice way of saying: “The residents are already suffering from pollution caused by the inequitable pike split of the 60’s… no one is going to notice a little more suffering… no need to improve the situation whatsoever”
As long as the extra cars are not in our “special and unique” neighborhoods, lets keep dumping them north of the pike and congratulate ourselves.
Bugek – every renter who moved from the suburbs and x-urbs into walkable Newtonville reduced their GHG emissions, whether or not they buy an EV. Even if they get their car out of the garage at Trio and drive across the street to Star Market, that’s fewer emissions than driving from almost any other place in Newton.
Lucia,
You highlight the 1 trip out of 100 where its potentially closer to justify. Nice.
In the meantime, those in 02460 can enjoy the extra carbon emissions in their neighborhood… while others in Newton can virtue signal their progressiveness.
$4000 2BR rents. Congrats? I guess.
Interesting, we’ve yet to see written statements from waban/newton center councilors pounding the table for several hundred affordable high density units in their OWN neighborhoods. Very telling, no?
Show me in writing.
The open space for people is probably the best commercial civic space in the city. The court at Washington Street could have that potential if it weren’t islanded by the traffic arterials, hopefully that will change.
Air pollution travels, the less air pollution there is in Massachusetts, the better for everyone. Ditto for water pollution and studies are finding roughly 30% of micro plastics in our ocean are from tire wear. These micro plastics travel up the ocean food chain and end up in us:
Americans Eat and Inhale Over 70,000 Plastic Particles Each Year According to a New Analysis https://time.com/5601359/microplastics-in-food-air/
Since you posted on this topic, I have a question about Trio: There’s a bunch of vertical poles sticking out above the buildings (for lack of a better description). Does anyone know what they are? It’s not something you see normally, and I think it gives the project an “unfinished” feel.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3510361,-71.2080653,3a,15y,11.25h,109.5t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sqtUh_faDjioLdIWq_R-TDQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DqtUh_faDjioLdIWq_R-TDQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D85.515526%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192
Vibrancy in Newtonville has improved, no doubt about that. But let’s not pretend that it’s Newbury Street either, although be fair, Covid (and high commercial rents) certainly dampens the party.
Covid is also surpressing traffic. We won’t know the full impact on traffic until people return to office en masse. TBD.
A good portion of the debate back in 2017 centered around more housing (would lower prices), more affordable housing and more diversity. Prices have not gone down, and Newtonville does not appear to be any more diverse – racially nor financially. Perhaps we need a few more years to see these impacts. To be continued….
Your comment that ‘prices have not gone down’ is really simplistic. In fact, median home prices in Newton have gone up from $972k in 2017 to $1.18M in 2021 (I am sure there are other data points but we all know prices have gone up). We also know rental prices have gone up. So the only question that matters is have we created new housing that is protected based on the LMI regulations. The answer is YES. For this group that qualifies there are more options. Beyond that we can’t control the market place beyond the general rules of supply and demand which becomes a regional issue.
Here is my data source. I am sure there are others. https://www.geodataplus.com/property-data/massachusetts/newtonma
Interesting that you said, “we can’t control the market” as that is how this and other large developments have been pitched to us for years – “if we increase supply…”
Throughout history, the market as only appreciated, barring 2 factors: an economic collapse (of which real estate recovers quickly as the economy does), or owner neglect of a particular plot/street/neighborhood/etc.
That said, these Newtonville developments have turned out fine and as always, we should welcome our newest neighbors. But let’s not pretend that these big developments – when being pitched to the community – will somehow “change the market” in bringing down housing costs or increasing racial or economic diversity in the scale equivalent to the overall density they add. If we are true to these goals, we need more projects like The Armory, where its contributions to cost reduction and increase in diversity is greater than the density footprint it leaves or requires. If there were more projects like The Armory, perhaps we can change the market after all.
@Matt. Housing is a regional issue which is why Newton has to increase housing along with other towns. Building a few hundred or a thousand units in Newton will not solve the regional issue. But if all towns did the same then we would make progress. At a minimum, saving some of these units for restricted housing for Newton residents will be a huge benefit, as well as increasing the diversity of housing types.
Litter is a big problem in Newtonville Sq. Last summer a private citizen cleaned the benches which were covered in food droppings. He collected the street litter too.
Those white out cropping on Trio’s roof are exhaust vents. Most buildings vent air in other ways. Trio must have used this process to save money. The entire Trio building is an ugly, dark uninviting structure. This project could have been so much more attractive. It even makes Austin St. look slightly more attractive.
Newton Centre would never allow such ugly buildings.
I don’t think it’s an ugly building except for those things on the roof. It looks like they’re getting ready to build another floor.
I will admit to being wrong about the parking; At least for now. We’ll see if when we get out of the Pandemic whether that makes much difference.
However, I’m not convinced so far anything has changed much regarding the affordable housing problem, which was the loudest topic on this forum.
There’s a large development going into West Newton and that combined with the CVS building (5 stories?) is going to more than double the current density in the area. In addition to the National Guard “castle”, which is going to be the only real “affordable” building in the area. There’s also a large building going in where the Oakley Spa was. It will be 3 stories, but take down two single/double family housed behind it. Condos with < 2 parking spots per unit. So there's a lot more coming.
We haven't dined out since (only takeout) the pandemic so I can't comment on the restaurants.
The Austin Street park can get messy with garbage. But that's going to happen with common spaces located near food. Hopefully the parties involved will keep it clean.
When you look at Newtonville now, it makes me wonder why Newton Center can’t undergo a similar transformation. Especially with Walgreen’s gone ( and that huge parking lot), Newton Centre is tired and old-looking, albeit with plenty of banks and spas. Our city councilors really need to put some effort into how Newton Centre can become a vibrant area with both housing and retail.
There is lots to comment on here about all the good things that are happening in Newtonville and I especially appreciate so many positive comments about 28 Austin Street and our amazing plaza.
But I want to add a bit of perspective on “affordable housing” which was commented on above.
At 28 Austin Street, of which I’m one of the developers, 23 or one third (33%) of the 68 apartments are rent restricted in perpetuity. These are the so-called “affordable” homes.
Six of the 23 rent restricted homes (almost 10% of the total 68) are occupied by tenants who make less than 60% of the area median income. (Area median income means 50% of the households in the greater Boston area earn more and 50% earn less. If you make 60% of median, that’s 60% of 50%.) Statistically speaking, your income is at or below the 30th percentile. In sum then, just to be clear, all of these tenants are folks who earn less than 70% of the households in the greater Boston area.
In addition, these very low income tenants are required to pay no more than 30% of whatever income they have. Some pay nothing at all due to disability or other qualifying reason. Some or all of their rent is paid by the state or federal government with vouchers at rates that are set by the state.
The other 17 tenants living in rent restricted apartments (about 23% of the total 68) also pay 30% of their income. Their incomes are between 60% and 80% of area median income. Statistically speaking, their income is between the 30th and 40th percentile. Again, just to be abundantly clear, all of these tenants are folks who earn less than 60% of the households in the greater Boston area.
But when it comes to Newton, our median household income of $151,060 (US Census, 2019) is 1.6 times the area median income of $94,430 (Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area, US Census, 2019.) As we all know, Newton is a very expensive place to live in a very expensive region.
So one-third of our 28 Austin neighbors have some of the lowest incomes in Newton as they all earn less than 75% of our Newton neighbors and many earn considerably less.
Furthermore, with the median house price in Newton exceeding $1,400,000 (December 2021, realtor.com) and requiring income of over $270,000 a year, $140,000 for a down payment and costing over $6700 per month with a 3% mortgage (including property tax and insurance but not including maintenance or landscaping or snow removal)
(NY Times mortgage calculator, https://www.nytimes.com/section/realestate/mortgage-calculator?adv=true&cc=0&dp=140000&hi=2000&hp=1400000&ir=3&loantype=30&pt=15120)
we can’t lose sight that even 28 Austin’s $4000 per month, 2 bedroom market rate apartments remain a relatively affordable option for those who want to live in Newton and are priced out of our very expensive single family homes.
That’s why 28 Austin is more economically diverse and more affordable than most Newton housing.
And why the discussion of “affordable housing” can’t be reduced to a sound bite.
a few other points (and thank you to folks who had kind words above):
1) I want to second what Scott Oran said. Between Trio and 28 Austin, there are a lot of new affordable rental units online, for the life of the building. That is a very long time. Those units are locked and protected. That’s huge. I appreciate the point folks tend to make about naturally affordable units on the north side, but the reality is that those “naturally affordable” units don’t stay affordable, because at some point the market gets hot enough that folks sell, or they have a life event and their heirs sell, etc. Naturally affordable housing doesn’t stay affordable in a market like Newton forever. These units will.
2)I’ve read all of the comments above. A few folks seem to be focused on the additional trash in the village. And you know what? They are right. Between the high school kids, young families, messy ice cream and burritos, coffee cups and wrappers, and quite a few pizza boxes, there is a lot more trash in the village. I’m hopeful that the city will hear these comments and do a better job with litter, install a few more big bellys, and also help with litter/garbage collection. Perhaps they can ask adjacent businesses to “adopt a bench” to make sure the benches stay clean a bit more often that the city clean…A small plaque sometimes goes a long way.
3) With that said, the comments about trash made me chuckle a bit. I mean, if the problem is that the village is now so popular that the trash being left behind has increased, wouldn’t that point to the fact that the improvements have been a huge success? It is a bit of a Yogi Berra complaint “that place is so popular no one wants to go there anymore”. We can certainly do better with trash, graffiti and vandalism issues, but some of that just comes with an activated space. And I seem to remember a LOT of trash in the old parking lot at Austin Street, with no one caring enough to pick it up…
4) I appreciate Rick Frank’s comment about the parking. Few folks come back online and admit to the nuance. So, Kudos Rick!. And I’m hopeful it will continue to be ok, parking wise. I actually think the past few months the parking and traffic were largely normal (in fact, more intense since fewer folks were taking the commuter rail).
5) I would love to know more about what is opening in Newtonville. I had no idea about Union Pharmacy, but would welcome them. I’m told another food place is opening in the old Los Amigos space sometime soon. Maybe a regular post on this site about new openings/closings, a la Boston Hidden Restaurants.
6) Two other big happenings: The new senior center, for better or worse, will be an anchor “tenant” for the south side of Newtonville. I’m sad to see the destruction of the library, but that new plan for the senior center is sure to drive even more folks to the village. Also, if the New Art Center does buy the church on Highland and redevelop it as a new campus, that would be terrific as well. I’d encourage both projects, if they occur, to be open for nighttime events. The north side could use a bit more nighttime activity.
I will close with this. It is impossible to please everyone when any project occurs, and the folks who are displeased are often much louder than the folks who generally like what has occurred but aren’t passionate about it. And no project is perfect (and case in point, even I don’t like the rooftop piping at Trio, no idea why they did that). But I think future projects get better if we can express our issues/complaints about the results in an open and honest manner as well as discuss what went right and what predictions were wrong. And again, thank you to the city folks who cared so much about this stuff for so long. Patience is truly a virtue that y’all have in abundance…
Scott Oran and Fignewtonville said it all, and far better than I could have done. Kudos.
@fignewtonville wrote “Maybe a regular post on this site about new openings/closings, a la Boston Hidden Restaurants.”
We’d be happy to post if someone sends us the information or we stumble across it ourselves. Sadly, our budget for reporters is $0 and shrinking exponentially.
@Fignewtonville
I don’t think the parking is yet normal. As an 30 year office tenant ( with no parking included ) in Newton Centre, the parking there has been historically difficult, especially for workers. Since Covid-19, I can think of only one day where it was hard to find a spot. I’m guessing less people commuting on green line, and the Starbucks is only open until 2 pm ( can’t find help ) and Tatte only 3 pm.
So certainly not back to pre Covid-19. Perhaps this is the new normal however. Working from “home”, for those that can stand it ( I cannot ) will save a lot of CO2 – private or public transportation.
Rick,
Whats interesting is that with worldwide covid lockdowns, the planet only reduced emissions by 6%
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00090-3
That puts in perspective the BS argument of high density housing close to transportation to fight climate change. In the most extreme example possible on earth… only 6% reducement worldwide.
Well, it’s a start. If people that want to work at home, or if large companies build small satellite offices ( an idea I’ve had for a while, kind of a scaled down we-work) where maybe a dozen people work with video hookups to other offices commuting becomes a shorter trip or even a walk or Lyft, will reduce fuel usage to a new normal low.
I lived in Newtonville from 1977 to 1992 and now from 2009 to the present. Newtonville was a great place to grow up (richies slushes at Caroline’s! The button wall at Newtonville Fabrics! Buying cards at House of Favors!) and is also so wonderful now. The public spaces at the Senior Center and Austin Street and Trio and new street seating for eating ice cream and people watching are so welcome as well as all the new businesses and bustle of new neighbors. I often walk through town and think about how lucky I am to live here.
There is a lot to like about Newtonville today. It certainly looks spruced up. The outside seating area on Bram’s way is a great especially being that it is not associated with one business so it useable space open to all who want to take advantage of it. My one complaint as someone who goes to Newtonville almost daily (George Howell is the best!) is the main drag with the way the parking areas are curved and the narrowness of that passage. The curved parking makes it a bit tough to slide into spots. I know the narrowness was done to try to reduce speed but from what I’ve seen that it not happening and it leaves little room for error. Hopefully kids do not bike through this stretch. I am amazed at how fast people zip through and have had a few close calls in the crosswalk.
Rick:
Hard to measure of course. But I’ll certainly be happy to continue the discussion if things seem to change over the next few years. I’d be thrilled for things to return to “normal”.
Meredith, I wasn’t suggesting a reporter from Village14. I was just suggesting you or Jerry each month post a new thread entitled “New Business openings and reviews and whatnot”. I would happily chime in monthly on Newtonville, and maybe a bit of West Newton. For instance, Blue Salt and Bluebird Cafe in West Newton, the new wine bar in west newton, LaPosta in Newtonville, etc. Just a “welcome to the neighborhood” type place to post.
Newton Highlands Mom: It was way worse before. WAY worse. I nearly got clipped more than once due to trucks parked in the middle lane and folks zooming through the crosswalk in their cars. I’m not a huge fan of the curved parking, but the crosswalks and such are much better. Easier sitelines. And there was no way to put bike lanes that would be safe in the village center without reducing the sidewalks. West Newton is far wider.
@Fig – that’s an excellent suggestion and I see Jerry’s already implemented it.
I agree with Newton Highlands Mom that traffic needs to be slowed through Newtonville.
I notice especially southbound traffic coming over the MassPike accelerates down the incline of the bridge.
I wonder if the city might explore installing a traffic calming circle at the intersection of Austin Street, Walnut Street and Newtonville Avenue.
You can read about traffic calming circles and see photos here:
https://www.sfbetterstreets.org/find-project-types/pedestrian-safety-and-traffic-calming/traffic-calming-overview/traffic-circles/
They are attractive, low cost, easy to install, and apparently quite effective.
Why not give it try before a pedestrian gets hit?
Scott, the traffic calming circle is an excellent idea. One is currently planned in Auburndale between the Marriott and the Speedway Gas Station, where Auburn Street intersects with Comm Ave.