Newton Infill and Small Developments

NIMBY neighbors gonna freak - housing is not affordable, but lets not build any new housing... :rolleyes:
 
Right. Just as 6 stories is apparently "way too big" despite being right across the street from a 5-story office building...

It also has about 4 times the footprint of the office building. I would argue that is what makes it too big, compared to the height. Gigantic crappy landscrapers do not make good neighbors. They should break up the massing into multiple taller buildings.
 
How many times do we have to hear the same thing over and over again from these NIMBY's?

"I'm in favor of development of the site, just not this proposed development because its too big, will result in too much traffic, is not in scale with the neighborhood...." blah blah blah.
 
It also has about 4 times the footprint of the office building. I would argue that is what makes it too big, compared to the height. Gigantic crappy landscrapers do not make good neighbors. They should break up the massing into multiple taller buildings.
Based on the pictures it appears that step-backs break up the street-facing facade into 5 separate parts, so its not like it is one massive 200ft long wall. More creative facade materials could probably help. I don't entirely disagree with the sentiment but from a practical perspective it doesn't seem possible to totally fix the massing, given how much space the parking garage has to take up.
 

New Developer Updates Plans for Crafts Street Site in Newton​


“A group of parcels along Crafts Street in Newton are set to be acquired from Mark Development, per new project filings for the 2.66-acre site. In November 2022, the City of Newton approved a special permit to construct an Elder Housing with Services facility on the site, but the project did not advance.

Now plans call for a 6-story multifamily project with 234 apartments. The property will feature a robust amenity package with a state-of-the-art fitness center, roof deck, landscaped courtyard with a swimming pool, pet spa, and a clubroom/lounge.”


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Bldup had a better render previously, looks much better than that drawing render.
 
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This project is in Brookline, not Newton.
 
As a native Newtonian with lots of Brooklinite family, I’d venture to say neither consider that spot anything other than Chestnut Hill.
As a native Newtonian, and longtime Brookliner, that may be true, but it is still located in Brookline.
 
I’m sure you’re technically correct (y)
Just saying because it was included in the Newton infill thread and belongs in the Brookline infill thread (or the Chestnut Hill infill thread if we had one).
 
As a native Newtonian, and longtime Brookliner, that may be true, but it is still located in Brookline.
As a native of all three having lived at Hammond & Reservoir right up the street, Newton Center, and Brookline Village between age 2 and 18, and Brookline for many years after that, I and all my Brookline friends would call this corner Brookline… I think. Maybe “Brookline right near Chestnut Hill,” or just “Brookline, where Hammond crosses Route 9”.

The “real” Chestnut Hill starts on the other side of Boylston, and runs up Hammond to BC. That’s the original hill and that’s the area that even those who live nearby don’t really consider to be either Newton or Brookline.

Heath Street is decidedly Brookline and thus, so are the shops adjacent to it. Anything outbound along Rt 9 is Newton (except as someone here pointed out, the gas station, but I doubt anyone knows that).

My family has lived in the 02467 zip code for many years but in S Brookline and would never call it Chestnut Hill. The only people I have ever met call the large expanse of South Brookline land following within 02467 “Chestnut Hill” are people who are either not originally from here and moved recently, or who act like they have something to prove. I went to high school in Brookline and nobody who lived in the Brookline portion of Chestnut Hill ever called it that, it was always “South Brookline”. I wonder if people from South Brookline who went to private school speak differently. In the other hand, everyone I have known who’s lived on Middlesex, Suffolk, Devon, and all those roads on either side of the T station do call it “Chestnut Hill” and not “Newton”. It would be a very interesting geographical anthropology study, since it is a unique entity that originally referred to a specific neighborhood but now has a zip code overlay which carries cachet. Of course, it also depends who you’re talking to. While I would still never call an area I don’t consider Chestnut Hill, Chestnut Hill, we all tend to simplify or gloss geography when speaking to non locals… another interesting phenomenon.
 
Countryside elementary school

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My ol' elementary school from 1969-1976 :cry: . But I'm happy for the community.
 

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