Revised plan for Newton Centre Plaza draws mixed reactions from businesses and residents

Newton Centre’s Pilot Plaza proposal has been revised after pushback from local businesses and residents, with the City reducing the number of parking spaces removed and shortening the year-long pilot to run only June through October. While some business owners, after these revisions, are cautiously optimistic about economic potential, others still question the necessity and feasibility of the plan. 

Revised Plan

Initially, the plan called for removing 51 spaces from the Langley Lot, and this sparked concerns from business owners and residents. In response, the City scaled back its proposal, now reducing the plaza from 16,000 sq ft. to 7,000 sq. ft. The smaller plaza will displace 24 parking spaces (15% of the entire lot), but 16 of those spaces will be recovered through changes in employee parking, the Blue Bike station, and ZipCar spots, leaving a net loss of only 8 spaces across the lot. To compensate, the City plans to add 60 spaces in the surrounding areas. (See Planning Dept. presentation.)

Jennifer Caira, Deputy Director of Planning, and Nora Masler, Senior Planner on the Long-Range Planning Team, explained details of the revised plan to Fig City News. 

• The Blue Bike station will move to the plaza area, not taking any parking spaces. 
• The two ZipCar spaces will move to a nearby municipal lot – Pelham, Pleasant, or Cypress. 
• The 12 employee parking spaces will move to streets in the periphery of Newton Centre, and they will likely not be together, so they can be relatively near businesses in different parts of Newton Centre.
• The budget for the project remains at $300,000 for design , engineering, construction, materials, and equipment. That includes refreshing the Newton Centre Green and improving lighting.
• The City plans to add wayfinding and signage to direct drivers to other spaces that may not be visible from the parking lot.

Local business owners weigh in

Some local businesses see the plaza as a potential benefit, anticipating increased foot traffic and a more vibrant atmosphere. Lauren Berman, who helps market and create events for local businesses all over Newton, believes the revised plaza will be a great addition to Newton Centre. 

“I really think it can benefit both local businesses and the community,” said Berman. “These events will attract members of the community into Newton Centre, increasing foot traffic while offering businesses a creative way to showcase their products and services– without sacrificing too many parking spaces.”

Berman has already come up with potential collaboration events for the Plaza, such as charcuterie board lunches with Market Tiamo and Cork & Board, fashion shows with Dear Dutchess and Karma, craft fairs with merchandise from local retailers, cooking demos from restaurants, and pastry tastings from bakeries. 

Mary Cotton, owner of Newtonville Books, expresses excitement as well, especially after the City’s revisions. “It’s really nice to see them listening, because it would be amazing to have my events [storytimes, author speaks, etc.] there,” said Cotton. “I think when talking about losing 8 spaces, most of us are willing to do that for a cool investment in this area that can do something great.”

While some businesses are already brainstorming events, others are a little more cautious with their approach. Ryan Gott, owner of wine shop Cork & Board on Centre Street, remains hopeful that the scaled-down project will benefit Newton Centre and the city altogether, but he is also wary of the parking challenges it can create. He believes the City may have underestimated the existing parking shortages for both shoppers and employees, questioning the timing and methodology of the City’s recent parking analysis. 

“They just announced they did this secret analysis of the parking lot,” said Gott. “They did it in the middle of winter, but this is happening in the summer and fall. They should have studied it last year to really understand the parking situation.” 

Although Gott acknowledges that reducing the lost spaces is an improvement in the plan, he argues that the real impact may be greater than it appears. Employee parking is being relocated, but without a clear plan for where those spaces will go, he worries it will only make things harder for the workers.

“We are already low on employee parking, and now it’s going to be even busier making it harder to find spaces, so we’ll need more employee spots, not the same amount” Gott said, pointing out that many of his employees are currently parking in the empty lot behind the old Walgreens. “Once the new Asian market moves in, that will no longer be an option, which is my major concern since parking has always been an issue for employers and employees here.”

Some residents view that parking is already a challenge and believe the revised plan seems to do little to ease those concerns. 

“I go to the medical practices around here, along with many other older residents that unlike myself may have mobility issues, and I really have to plan accordingly to secure a spot in that lot,” says Ann Avery, a Chestnut Hill resident who has lived in Newton for 49 years. “I might have to drive around a few times before I get a space because even now there isn’t enough space for the demand.”

Erika Curley, managing partner of the Farmstead Table restaurant on Union Street, said she would love to see improvements in the area and supports the idea of a community space, but she believes a plaza in the parking lot is not the best use of the funds. 

“I think there are so many good things to be done,” including improving the Newton Centre Green space and playground, creating more employee and handicap spaces, implementing loading zones or short-term parking options, and even building a garage structure over the train tracks. She is particularly concerned about the lack of handicap parking on Union Street. 

She makes clear that the focus should be not on adding something new and inviting in Newton Centre but rather about making sure things work efficiently. 

“It’s a big move to make and a risk to take because you’re gambling with the businesses that are here,” Gott said. “They said ‘just give it a year,’ and even now revised for almost half a year, we can still go bankrupt by then.”

The City is continuing its efforts in community engagement regarding the planning for the plaza – and will hold a Community Engagement session on March 12, 6PM-8:30PM, at the City’s Arts & Culture Building (1294 Centre Street), with drop-in hours during the rest of that week.

Alexyss Lopez is a senior majoring in Journalism at Boston University and working with Fig City News via her department’s new initiative within the BU Newsroom program.