September 2024 Newsletter
What’s up with Northland and Riverside?
Two of the most contentious developments in recent years are headed back to the City Council, and in both cases the developers are looking to reduce the commercial portion and increase the housing.
Mark Development’s Riverside and the Northland Needham Street project face the same headwinds. The work-from-home revolution has left commercial offices nationwide nearly vacant, making it impossible to build more.
Here in Boston the lab market, which seemed so hot just a few years ago, faces the same challenges. One Colliers study says that there are more than 1.1 million square feet of lab space available in the Newton/Waltham/ Needham area alone.
When the Riverside and Northland Needham Street projects cleared their various permitting hurdles before the pandemic, the office and lab space market still had life. But today we face a vastly different environment.
It does beg the question, why did these projects take so long to go from permitting to building?
What Streetsblog calls “Newton’s onerous ‘special permit’ review process for large developments” doesn’t help things.
The years spent hammering out a deal with the City Council, talking and negotiating with neighbors, navigating archaic zoning requirements, fighting local lawsuits and, in Northland’s case, battling a referendum drove up the projects’ costs while also causing the delays that led us directly to today.
All of this adds up to projects that are reduced in scope and vibrancy than when first presented to the City Council.
A lot has to do with the rising cost of construction. Material costs increased by 43% since 2020, exacerbated by labor shortages and supply chain problems due to Covid. Interest rates went up, too. All this meant that the financing for the projects changed rapidly, even as the cost of building shot up.
The bottom line is that the bottom line on the finance sheets doesn’t look the same as it did when developers conceived of these projects. Investors backed away, with many projects stalling or going back to the drawing board.
Riverside
Streetsblog notes that “Plans to replace that pavement [Riverside] with something more useful have been circulating for decades.” The MBTA first approved developing a project at Riverside in 2009! The City Council approved that proposal in 2013. But those plans fell through. The more recent special permit for the site was approved in 2020. “But so far, none have been able to thread the needle between financial viability” and all the time it takes to get approval from the City.
Now, what had been a mixed-use proposal with offices, lab space, and housing looks more like a housing-only development, at least in phase one, with 541 units proposed, up to 20% of which would be affordable. Some commercial development could be incorporated in phase 2 along with more residential. The new proposal also reduces Green Line commuter parking by a third.
The MBTA board has approved the changes, and a proposal will be submitted to the City to begin the review and permitting process yet again.
Northland
Over on the Northland property on Needham Street, under revised plans, the office space and some of the smaller residential buildings are gone. The historic mill is becoming all residential while most of the other buildings will still have stores and restaurants on the ground floor. The amended proposal includes a net increase of just 22 housing units, as it reduces the number of new buildings on the site. Fewer buildings will mean more public open space.
But the loss of office space is forcing the developer to revise its offer of a regular shuttle to the Newton Highlands MBTA station. Today there is MBTA bus service that stops right by the site about every half hour at rush hour, although less frequently at other times.
Offices generate more traffic than residential. Therefore, with no office space and only a slight increase in the number of apartments, many fewer car trips would be generated by the revised project.
A number of community elements would remain, including a bike path, splash park and public park areas like a village green.
A specific proposal has not yet been presented to the City Council. After that occurs, the Land Use committee will review the proposal and hold public hearings before making a decision.
What’s the explanation?
The truth is that developing these massive projects takes time and work that is often difficult for the layperson to see. Many of us go past the Northland site, as well as the Newton Crossing (a.k.a. Dunstan East) site, and see a large empty area. But under the surface work is going on, removing existing foundations, stabilizing unstable soils, building underground systems to move sewage and stormwater, and laying the electrical and telecom conduits.
While these projects may not look like they did before, they will be thriving locations with new neighbors helping to add life to our city.
What's up with that hole in the ground? Updates on building projects across Newton
For a brief update on other developments around Newton, take a look at What's up with that hole in the ground? on our website.
Due to delays, changing financial conditions and lawsuits, the original developers on a number of the proposed projects in Newton have had to sell or are selling either the land alone or the land with the special permit plans. Just another of the myriad explanations for delays in providing more housing.
Come talk with us at our table at these local events.
Upper Falls Village Day – Sunday, September 15
Newtonville Village Day – Sunday, September 29
Harvest Fair – Sunday, October 20
Let us know if you'd like to help out at our table!
Discover what we are currently reading and watching!
Harris and the Democrats are creating solutions to the housing crisis, Elizabeth Warren, Boston Globe. 09/2024. “The rise in housing prices is Econ 101: We don’t have enough housing for all our people, and the resulting shortage drives up prices across the country. The solution is equally simple: Build more housing to drive down prices. We need more housing everywhere and for everyone.”
WATCH: The Problem with "Luxury Housing", About Here, 08/2024. New housing developments seem to be overwhelmingly unaffordable to the average person, why is this happening?
How New Apartments Create Opportunities for All, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, 2024. “Market-rate rental construction in Minneapolis has freed up more affordable homes for households across the income spectrum.”
Newton for Everyone is dedicated to promoting housing opportunities for people of all ages, means, backgrounds and abilities in Newton. The housing shortage affects all of us. We believe that diverse housing options are crucial to fostering a thriving community, a sustainable environment and a robust economy.