City planner and urban designer Jeff Speck is the lead designer of the soon to be proposed designed for the Riverside MBTA station (and also the guy behind this vision for Washington Street). He submitted this guest blog post.
As the lead designer of the proposed development at the Riverside T Station, I have been asked to write a post explaining the thinking behind the plan. While I believe that the principles and goals outlined here are shared by the entire development team, the thoughts that follow are my own
As seen below, the site is a special one, adjacent to the Charles River greenway, flanked north and south by open space and golf courses, east and west by mostly low-density development at some distance, adjacent to a major highway
The comments accompanying last week’s Boston Globe article about the proposed revisions to a mixed used development at the Riverside MBTA station, included two very different views of long-time Newton City Councilor Lenny Gentile:
“S&J’s Dad” writes…
…Councilor Gentile is an obstructionist who represents a minority viewpoint. He shouldn’t be allowed to continue to prevent progress toward modern development at Riverside.
But “Preserve our Neighborhood” write…
…City Councilor Lenny Gentile is a hero, a rare honest and brave elected leader who has the guts to stand up for residents and against the worst excesses of privatization of public property.
What’s your view? Is Gentile “an obstructionist” or “a hero”?
The new Riverside complex could be the biggest project Newton has seen in recent memory: a collection of several buildings that would include an office tower, a hotel, hundreds of apartments, and a Green Line garage. The developers are considering a direct highway connection to minimize the additional traffic on Grove Street, which passes by an elementary school and through two residential areas.
Robert Korff’s plans are just getting started to redevelop Washington Street’s two mile stretch through the Newton Villages of West Newton, Newtonville and Newton Corner in addition to Riverside in Auburndale according to this Boston...
After the Board of Aldermen issued a Special Permit for the construction of the new development at Riverside, a group of neighbors from Lower Falls and Auburndale filed suit against the Board or Aldermen, the developer (Normandy), and the MBTA, challenging the...
Eight residents — yes that’s right EIGHT — have filed a lawsuit claiming the Newton Board of Aldermen’s approval of a $350 million development near the MBTA’s Riverside Station, saying they were not given a chance to raise their concerns during a...
A very reliable source sent us this… The attached photo is of a a truck belonging to a Zervas teacher, who said the Union told her it was OK to park within 80′ of the door to the polls with a “Newton Teachers support Setti Warren” sign. She...
There are two types of people in the world: those who think that the Riverside Station site should be exploited with fairly intense development and those who think just about any development is too much. Both groups were disappointed last night at the first Land Use...
Those speaking during a public hearing Tuesday were overwhelming opposed to a mixed-use development at the Riverside MBTA. In addition to the understandable concerns about traffic, safety, construction and noise, a common theme was concern from neighbors about losing...
Developer BH Normandy will present its new Riverside MBTA Station development proposal to the public on Tuesday June 26 at 7 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chambers of Newton City Hall. This is from the project description recently posted on the city’s website The...
In 1975, the Newton Conservation Commission published a visionary plan called the Charles River Pathway for linking the entire Charles River water front with walking paths from Cutler Park in Needham to Watertown Square. In the intervening years, the DCR has built a...
Throw on a robe and venture outside for the rolled-up-stuffed-in-a-bag version of this week’s TAB for my op-ed on why all parking at Riverside should be available on equal terms to all. I’ll post a link when it’s available. (Planning to milk the...
