At 8:30AM on Saturday, December 4, approximately thirty-five residents of Nonantum and Newtonville gathered in the Horace Mann Elementary School cafeteria for a presentation by Boylston Properties of its proposed development of market-rate and affordable (under Chapter 40B) apartments at 78 Crafts Street in Newtonville. The project — which Boylston Properties’ principal, Andrew Copelotti, described as an “urban village” – will occupy nearly five acres along Crafts Street, bordering Court Street and Maguire Court. Currently, the proposed development consists of 307 units, in four buildings of four to six stories, with 266 parking spaces apportioned at ground level under three buildings and in a two-story parking facility. Among its amenities, 78 Crafts Street will offer outdoor green-space sitting areas as well as a dog park for residents and neighbors. The proposed plan notes: “The Applicant has thoughtfully designed the Development to create almost one acre of new green space.”
In compliance with the Commonwealth’s 40B requirements, 20% (63 units) will be for renters earning no more than 50% of Area Mean Income, and the four buildings will include a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Among its amenities, 78 Crafts Street will offer residents a fitness center, community and co-worker spaces and outdoor grilling facilities. All the buildings will be developed according to Passive House Standards. Mr. Copelotti’s presentation included slide renderings of the overall site and views of the four buildings with designated green spaces.
The overwhelming concern of the attendees was the traffic impact on Crafts Street, not only from the Boylston Properties development but from the proposed 233-resident Elderly Housing Crafts Street development nearby. Several area residents spoke about the problems they have in accessing Crafts Street from the streets perpendicular to it.
Mr. Copelotti described his company’s large, local development projects, including the Arsenal Yard Boylston Properties Watertown project, which he said was a “game changer.” He and the staff promised that there would be a significant number of improvements and repairs to the property including dealing with groundwater, soil, and vegetation. Mitch Klein, a resident and trustee at 77 Court Street (a mixed-income condominium complex), noted the lack of home ownership options in the area and asked Mr. Copelotti why the Crafts Street project did not include condominiums. “It’s not what we do,” Mr. Copelotti responded. Another local resident complained that all the heavy development was happening on the north side of the city along Washington Street. Mr. Copelotti explained that the north side of the city included large, unused manufacturing lots that could be developed, whereas the south side of Newton had more single-family lots not suitable for large, multi-residential projects.
Mr. Copelotti promised that there would be other community meetings and that he and Boylston Properties were sensitive to the concerns of people in the neighborhood, particularly the abutters on Court Street. The audience was encouraged to sign in with their names and addresses so that they could be notified about updates to the plans and additional presentations.
Bob Kavanagh, a Court Street resident, complained at the meeting about the traffic, and in an interview with Fig City News, he said that a number of smaller, generally affordable, multi-family homes were going to be torn down to make room for this development. With the project’s emphasis on rental development, he said “no one is going to be able to own anything.” He added, “What’s going to happen to people who already live in affordable housing when those houses are torn down?” He said that what is being built is “out of their price range.”
Mitch Klein said that abutters on Court Street were concerned about the two-story parking lot, which would involve shining bright headlights into local windows. He suggested that the volume of traffic from 78 Crafts Street and the elderly housing would require a street light to allow people on adjacent streets to drive on Crafts Street. He also suggested that holding this meeting at 8:30AM on a Saturday prevented some of the neighborhood’s younger residents, who have children, from joining the meeting. Commenting on the Arsenal Yard Watertown development, Mr. Klein suggested that Boylston Properties should offer local residents a tour of it to demonstrate its versatility and mix of design elements.
Boylston Properties anticipates that the permitting process for 78 Crafts Street will be complete by the summer of 2024. Once all the financing is in place, Mr. Copelotti said, construction would begin, likely in the second quarter of 2025.