Good development in a good location. It's a shame this is replacing a handsome, pre-war building. I hope the Austin Street development comes through, as that is replacing a parking lot.
Agreed. Only a portion of it replaces a handsome old façade (the portion on the corner). That portion farther down Washington replaces something with a bunch of crappy aluminum siding that might be hiding a handsome façade. Or might not.
This is one place where the 101 Arch Street approach of preserving a façade while going taller with a stepped back new core, might be aesthetically pleasing. I don't always like that approach, it is badly bungled at times. But I'd be open to it here, at least as a possibility, since the old building on the corner is a good piece of old fabric. And if the other part has lost its old façade, that could be part of the compromise: save this, go ahead and raze that.
Otherwise, though, I want Newton to be doing lots more of this (speaking as a Newton voter), especially in Newton Centre. If the whole building needs to be replaced, I will live with the loss of that nice old part.
Newton's Board of Aldermen approved Austin Street on December 8, one of their last big acts before renaming themselves City Council. It ain't built yet but it's approved.
Otherwise, though, I want Newton to be doing lots more of this (speaking as a Newton voter), especially in Newton Centre.
This would be a good place for the city council to get creative on mitigation asks. Instead of the endless squabbling over some tiny percentage on unit count, go for some swap of tax breaks in return for ten year lease to (for example) Newtonville Camera a their current lease rate plus a modest inflation escalator.
I like the idea of being creative for mitigation. Designate a retail space that is reserved solely for retail companies whose headquarters are in Newton, or something like that. Or instead of subsidizing housing to be sold below market rate, they could (help) pay for Newtonville Station to be rebuilt to ADA-compliance: something that has to be done and will benefit their residents and the neighborhood immensely.
You can still find a handful of elderly folks who remember when this was a mill town. When they finally sell their (usually quite modest) homes, there often ensues a tear-down, with the replacement home being double or triple the square footage. The income delta between buyer and seller is often probably ten or more orders of magnitude.
Article in the Newton Tab:
http://newton.wickedlocal.com/news/...posal-to-redevelop-newtonville-block/?Start=1
Not a lot new. Bu one useful tidbit I didn't see in the Globe articla: the developer tossed out the idea of improvements to the Walnut Street bridge over the Pike, along with T station upgrades, as possible gives to the City in return for greater density. He downplayed the idea of a greenway deck over the Pike, as that would clearly be vastly beyond the financial scope of this development to carry. I'd prefer a station upgrade if the T is actually ready to make use of it effectively (not sure about that), even though I'm over on the Green Line side of town.
One hysterical bit: someone in the crowd shouted out "gentrification" in response to the possibility of existing businesses not being able to afford to come back at the newer, almost certainly higher retail rents. I'm sympathetic to that issue; I wouldn't mind seeing one of the mitigation bargaining chips being relocation assistance to the businesses being displaced, and there's still a decent amount of underutilized retail space along Washington in Newton for them to go to if they had help. But, having noted that sympathy: gentrification complaints from Newtonites? This town has been undergoing relentless gentrification for decades. You can still find a handful of elderly folks who remember when this was a mill town. When they finally sell their (usually quite modest) homes, there often ensues a tear-down, with the replacement home being double or triple the square footage. The income delta between buyer and seller is often probably ten or more orders of magnitude.
If the person complying of gentrification at the meeting was one of the elderly retired mill workers from over in Nonantum (seems like the main last bastion, I think), OK, fair complaint coming from them. But .... that battle was lost a long long time ago. If the cry of gentrification came from anyone who has bought a house here within the last twenty - thirty years ... I'd suggest that person go look in the mirror. And then stop embarrassing the rest of us who live here.
income delta between buyer and seller is often probably ten or more orders of magnitude
Developer modifies plans for Newtonville block
Local developer Robert Korff has modified his plans to raze the block of buildings at the corner of Washington and Walnuts streets in Newtonville to build a 151-unit apartment and retail complex after hearing from neighbors at a community meeting last month.
Korff met with Newtonville residents again recently, and outlined changes that include his purchase of the Sunoco gas station on Washington Street and four multifamily homes on Washington Terrace, just behind the Sunoco station.
In addition, he has reduced the proposed height of the building from six stories at its highest to five stories.
[...]
Other changes to Korff’s original proposal include widening the outside plaza from 25 to 40 feet, adding significant landscaping, creating approximately 2,000 square feet of indoor community space, and separating the fronts of the Washington Street and Walnut Street buildings into two separate buildings.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/re...ville-block/2lIZHzuBOadjVcQXDT3hPO/story.html