Once an industrial and manufacturing area with large mills providing work for immigrants, Newton’s California Street is now a mix of single-family houses, small stores, unique small manufacturing enterprises, and an increasing number of multi-family buildings, including a 40B development on Los Angeles Street. Its assets include proximity to the Charles River Greenway and Stearns and Forte parks.
The area is a manufacturing zone with a number of small manufacturing businesses, but it is not suitable for heavy-duty industrial use. The Newton Planning Department has hired Utile, the same firm working on the Village Center Zoning Redesign project, to explore ways to rezone and develop California Street, recognizing that commercial and light industrial businesses will add more to the City’s tax revenue than residential property taxes.
The website’s introduction to the study explains:
Because Newton has so little commercially zoned land, and because the tax rate for commercial property is nearly double the residential rate, the loss of land zoned for industrial use led the City staff to initiate a study of development possibilities in this area. … Beyond looking for ways to expand the potential commercial tax base, the study seeks to expand “the creation of approximately-scaled housing.”
Several of the area’s mills from the late 19th and early 20th centuries have been repurposed for office space. The Economic Development Department has documented the area’s history and evolution in its April 27 California Street Manufacturing District Zoning Study. On the Watertown side of Galen Street and the Charles River, business is booming with the development of several new life science buildings, increasing the commercial tax base. Utile has been testing and developing a strategy for similar commercial projects for the stretch of California Street from Galen Street to just beyond Post 440 (295 California street), which would extend along the Charles River Greenway. The green spaces are part of the design elements included in the commercial and residential zoning proposal.
Director of the Newton’s Planning and Development Barney Heath, Director of Economic Development John Sisson, and Tim Love and Lauren Rapport from Utile held an in-person meeting at Post 440 on April 27 and a hybrid meeting at City Hall on June 8 to present options for expanding the California Street zoning. Generally, attendees expressed concerns about the heavy traffic on California Street, emphasizing the often stand-still congestion on Bridge Street leading into Watertown. One area resident, who is also an owner of a new California Street condominium development, underscored the limited bus service, which does not run after 7PM. Both John Sisson and Tim Love said that the assessment did not include transportation issues, although if the City were willing to include a transportation consultant, they would expand their study.
At the June 8 public meeting, Tim Love and Lauren Rapport presented a more definitive plan (PDF). The study envisions commercial buildings east of Los Angeles Street with projected life science space on second, third, and possibly fourth floors and “boutique” industrial and possibly some retail space on the first floor (the “3:1 model”). An example of the model is a microbrewery and pub or a woodworking business with retail options. The model allows for more lucrative life science (commercial) businesses on upper floors and lower-rent-paying light industrial business on the first floor (page 17). Those commercial models will be perpendicular to California Street to minimize massive frontage on the street and would be limited to four stories, with the top floor set back at least seven feet, creating a balcony. Buildings on side streets could be five stories.
Tim Love explained that the 3:1 model was more economically successful and would likely be more attractive for developers. Parking is always a factor in development, and Tim Love noted that in the commercial/light industrial model, developers favored two parking spaces per 1000 square feet. Loren Rapport commented that with commercial development, parking would be time-limited during the day and not an issue at night as it is with residential development. The proposed building height and footprint (page 21) are the same metrics Utile used in the Village Center Zoning Redesign VC3 overlay.
On June 9, John Sisson, Tim Love and Lauren Rapport appeared before the Economic Development Commission to present the updated version of the California Street Study. Commission member Chuck Tanowitz asked the Utile team if it had considered adaptive reuse of the existing buildings in the current California Street Manufacturing zone. Tim Love responded that new construction was more appealing to developers. Following the meeting, Mr. Tanowitz commented, “Utile seems to be telling us that these (existing buildings) aren’t what the market wants. …One thing I would like to see is encouragement for adaptive reuse, but that would depend on the quality of the existing structures. I can’t speak to that. Other properties in Nonantum have done this effectively.” Asked about the direction of Utile’s recommendations, Mr. Tanowitz said, “Ultimately, Utile’s recommendations are just that. They’re not an actual plan; they are just something for this city to use to see one possibility. But, personally would like to have seen more creative options….”
Ward 1 Councilor Alison Leary, who attended the public meetings and presentations before the Economic Development Commission, highlighted the proximity of the California Street Manufacturing District to the Watertown MBTA bus yard and its readily available public transportation to Boston and Cambridge. She recommended eliminating parking minimums, encouraging bike use along the Charles River Greenway path, and perhaps working with Watertown to develop smaller vans that would provide transportation along California Street to bus service in Watertown Square.
A representative from the owners of Stop and Shop suggested that the market for lab and office is softening and that instead, developers were more likely to want to build residential projects. Tim Love responded that Newton did not want to forsake the commercial tax revenue for more residential development, especially since Newton’s industrial portfolio is so small.
Having conducted three public hearings and presented proposals to the Newton Economic Development Commission, the study team will produce recommendations that it will publish online and submit to the City Council.
Comments and questions may be sent to the City’s Director of Economic Development, John Sisson, at jsisson@newtonma.gov.
