About 80 people gathered at the American Legion Post 440 on January 31 for a second public meeting with Boylston Properties staff and consultants to discuss the proposed 307-unit residential project to be developed on 4.76 acres between Crafts Street and Court Street (see Fig City News article). The project, known as 78 Court Street, has been a hot topic in the Nonantum community, with a heavily residential area across the street from the project on the north side. Under state law, with 62 units slated for 40B affordable housing at 50% of the Area Mean Income for qualified renters, the 78 Crafts Street project requires the approval of Newton’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) rather than the customary oversight by the Planning Department.
Andrew Copelotti, a principal in Boylston Properties, the developer of 78 Crafts Street, led the presentation and ensuing discussion. He highlighted the residential nature of the four buildings (two four-story, one five-story and one six-story) and a two-story parking garage. Distinguishing them from Washington Street commercial real estate, he explained that driving down Crafts Street, people will see the project’s green space. All the buildings will be built to “Passive House” standards. Mike Binette, who leads the architectural team, described the development as an “urban village” with a mix of apartment buildings, outdoor sitting areas, a path from Crafts Street to Court Street, and a dog park for use by residents and the community.
Currently, the eleven parcels that comprise the planned project include automotive-related businesses, an engineering contractor, and two two-family and multi-family residences. It is bounded by a building and garage used by Newton’s Department of Public Works. Boylston Properties will have an entrance/exit to the development through adjoining Maguire Court. Only emergency vehicles will be allowed to access the property through Court Street, which is narrow and one-way.
By far the most contentious response by the audience was to engineer Daniel LaCivita’s traffic study of Crafts Street. His report also considered Lincoln Road and Clinton Street – two streets that are perpendicular to Crafts Street and across from the entrance to the project – as well as the planned senior living project steps from 78 Crafts Street. According to his examination and analysis, the impact of the additional cars due to the project will have a “small increase in traffic.” He suggested that resetting the lights at Crafts and Washington Streets would help to alleviate traffic backups, and he estimated that at peak travel hours, traffic would increase about 10%. As a remedy, he advised that the City should install traffic calming devices on the street. ZBA has asked that the traffic study be peer-reviewed.
Lincoln Road resident Marcela Hauke Burke — who distributed a seven-page overview of local traffic patterns, car ownership, and travel — highlighted the speed and volume of cars on Adams Street, which is parallel to Crafts Street and connected to it by three narrow streets including Lincoln Road. She noted that there were three accidents on Adams Street in 2023 (two involving people in crosswalks) and three the preceding year. After the meeting, Ms. Hauke Burke told Fig City News that when she moved to Lincoln Road, her children were able to play on the street, but now “everyone cuts through to Crafts Street.” James Pellegrine, an Adams Street resident, underscored the increase in accidents on Adams Street and suggested that the City Council “be in the loop.” Others challenged Mr. LaCivita’s assessment of peak traffic times, claiming that Crafts Street traffic is frequently backed-up in the late morning as well as morning and late afternoon rush hours. To concerns about parking on side streets because 78 Crafts Street will only have 267 parking spaces, Mr. Copelotti responded that more parking spaces will bring more traffic. He noted that 78 Crafts Street is near mass transit – 0.3 miles from the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail station and down the street from Washington Street buses.
Several people asked about local preference in determining the 40B units, of which seven units will have three bedrooms and nineteen will have two bedrooms. Jenn Caira, Newton’s Deputy Planning Department Director, noted that:
Per our zoning ordinance 25% of affordable units in 40B and Special Permit projects are reserved for local preference. The state lays out the local preference categories:
(1) Current residents: A household in which one or more members is living in the city or town at the time of application. Documentation of residency should be provided, such as rent receipts, utility bills, street listing or voter registration listing.
(2) Municipal Employees: Employees of the municipality, such as teachers, janitors, firefighters, police officers, librarians, or town hall employees.
(3) Employees of Local Businesses: Employees of businesses located in the municipality.
(4) Households with children attending the locality’s schools, such as METCO students.Newton residents may also be eligible for other supportive services through Health and Human Services.
Gail Deegan, who lives south of the Mass Turnpike, not in Nonantum, made the case that there were concerns about TRIO and 28 Austin Street that have not materialized. (TRIO has 140 units and resident underground parking; 28 Austin Street has 68 units with resident parking.) Former Ward 2 City Council candidate Peter Bruce commented that TRIO offered public transportation vouchers to tenants, but they were not used.
Nonantum Neighborhood Association Chairperson Teresa Sauro said to Fig City News, “I think 307 units is too large and will bring an additional 500-600 additional residents. Our streets are not made for this volume of vehicles. Limiting parking spaces to 236 spaces for that many units is unacceptable as I don’t think they have taken into consideration, Amazon deliveries, outside services such as housecleaners, etc. In the last 5 to 10 years we have been over developed, nothing is affordable, and traffic is a nightmare.”
Ward 1 City Councilor John Oliver, who lives in Nonantum, has asked the Planning Department and Traffic Council for a comprehensive traffic review of the area. He said, “We can’t expect to be a car-light or car-free society, especially in the absence of real public transportation.” And, he dismisses the idea that bicycles will replace the need for cars in the foreseeable future.
Newly elected Ward 2 Ward Councilor David Micley stressed the importance of local residents attending ZBA hearings to express their concerns. (The next Crafts Street hearing is scheduled for February 28.) Ward 1 City Councilor Maria Scibeli Greenberg, also a Nonantum resident, agreed with the sentiment that the project was too big and would produce too heavy a traffic burden on the neighborhood. She cited the plans for a (105-unit) senior living residence with 140 parking places, also slated for Crafts Street. Councilor Greenberg underscored the need for traffic mitigation.
In conversation with Fig City News after the meeting, Mr. Copelotti acknowledged that Boylston Properties is considering a number of recommendations from Newton’s Planning Department and Zoning Board of Appeals members, including a tot-lot, locating the dog park to a more accessible location, and looking for ways to increase parking. At the January 10 ZBA meeting, one of the members advised that there should be a 1:1 ratio of parking spaces to apartment units. Although Mr. Copelotti did not comment on it, ZBA Vice Chair Brooke Lipsitt thought that underground parking would reduce the height of the buildings and improve the overall appearance, although she acknowledged that it is more expensive to build. Generally, members wanted a peer reviewed traffic study and reconsideration of the green space and buildings. Currently, each building has a first-floor parking garage with apartment units above and a separate two-story parking garage.
Some at the January 31 public meeting at Post 440 lamented the high density development of the area, to which Mr. Copelotti responded that there were more options for development in this area and on the north side than in other parts of Newton. In a later conversation, he noted that the current properties paid a little more than $100,000 in taxes, whereas 78 Crafts Street will bring the city $1.3 million in tax revenue. Asked about what he heard at the meeting, Mr. Copelotti, a Newton resident who once lived in the neighborhood, said about the neighborhood criticism, “I get it. If I can do something, I’ll do it, and if I can’t I’ll tell you.”
