The last time the words “Turtle Lane Playhouse” appeared on Village 14 was in 2016, when the Newton City Council approved a plan to redevelop the Auburndale site into a new theater, with 16 units of housing and office space.
The theater, where musicals had been performed for 30 years, closed in 2013, and something positive needed to be done to bring the site back to life. Since it was approved, the project has languished, with some limited construction (as shown in the photo) and no signs that it will ever be completed.
The city Inspectional Service Department put a stop-work order on the project on October 1, 2021, because of safety issues. Stephen Vona, the developer, did arrange for two modular units to be constructed and installed, and they have been sitting on the site for more than a year.
Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and the three Ward 4 councilors, Chris Markiewicz, Lenny Gentile, and Josh Krintzman, are aware of the situation, but nobody in city government has done anything to resolve the impasse.
It’s about time the city acted. The first step might to determine the extent of the problem and whether Vona has the ability to complete the project.
The City Council are now engaged in a process of rezoning villages center to enhance their vitality. Turtle Lane is an important part of Auburndale center, but in its present condition, it’s a blight on the neighborhood. The city needs to get this project moving.
I recall there being an issue of unpaid taxes on the property, which was resolved before the City Council approved. Makes me wonder if there has been a financing problem?
It is definitely time for this horrible issue to be resolve. This is one of the first properties that a person sees when entering “THE GARDEN CITY” certainly not welcoming and I am sure gives prospective citizens something to question.
Thank you, Tom Gagen, for using this Blog to bring awareness to the seemingly never-ending quandary that is the former Turtle Lane Playhouse and its property. It is indeed an important neighborhood issue.
For 21 years, I am residing within eye(sore) of Steve Vona’s project that he purchased in May 2014. Approximately 100 yards separates the property and my residence. And I pass by both the Ash Street side and Melrose Street side of that property several times each week. In fact, all future vehicle traffic of prospective residents of the ‘apartments’ will enter/exit a narrow One-Way Ash Street underground parking lot. Not a pleasant thought. I do inquire about its status to two friends who have known Steve and his family for decades. Recently, their collective response: “We wish we knew.”
Upon purchasing the Playhouse and property, Steve held three public hearings in June, July and November 2014.
I attended the final two. Each public hearing was packed with neighbors. The November public hearing included lights but no heat. Yet despite the chilly atmosphere neighbors filled the old Playhouse and saw drawings of the proposed new Playhouse, apartments, and exterior of the property. Architect George Schnee, whose office was on the second floor of the building directly across the street overlooking Turtle Lane, gave a presentation, answered questions and showed his drawings along with an original black and white photo of the former home owned by the woman who generously gifted it and the property upon her death to the two gentlemen who oversaw the Playhouse for 33 years. The drawings brought to life the entire original house that became Turtle Lane Playhouse and showed the apartments, too. Quite impressive.
Several months later in ’15, I saw George Schnee in the Village (Auburn Street) near his office and asked about the progress of the Turtle Lane property. He said: “I am no longer working on the project.” He added that “differences” between he and Steve Vona about “how best” to continue caused the split. George did not share specific reasons.
The last significant work to the building occurred last January. I have seen Steve and his son on the property several occasions since cleaning various materials away from the grounds and moving large rocks with a BobCat front-end loaders. Though I did begin a dialogue with Steve upon meeting him in June 2014, and he occasionally spoke to me as I passed by through the years, I have not chatted with him all year even as we nodded to each other each time I passed.
In addition, construction stopped several times from working with City Councilors to include a small cafe` (a ‘nay’ by Councilors) to an initial proposal of 22 units (a ‘nay’ by Councilors) to the entry/exit to the apartments that changed because of numerous neighbors opposed to that schematic to funding problems to a lawsuit by two lawyers who reside within a few blocks of the Turtle Lane Playhouse. All latter information is from Steve and a few neighbors ‘in the know.’
At this time, my sense is that Steve may sell the current condition of the property to a developer with interest in a 40B project. And the funding issue looms large, especially with interest rates soaring. As most people know, these are difficult times within the real estate industry. So, the situation at Turtle Lane may remain for some time before conclusion of a long eight years of eager anticipation occurs.
Don’t hold your breath. Looks like he’s in financial trouble. It’ll probably be an eyesore indefinitely.
https://casetext.com/case/murphy-v-vona?resultsNav=false
The City of Newton cares more about pleasing greedy developers & their slick attorneys. “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme” in the name of affordable housing without regard to longtime homeowners who have made big sacrifices to live in this city.