On May 5, in a 19-4 vote, the City Council approved an amended version of the original Northland Project that offers a mix of residential, commercial, and retail development on twenty-two acres in Newton Upper Falls.
The original permit proposal, submitted in 2019, would have included office space in the historic Saco-Pettee Mill building on the property’s Oak Street line. The original proposal won approval after a city-wide referendum supported it (58% – 42%) in 2020. The revised special permit, proposed in 2024, removes five buildings and converts the Saco-Pettee Mill building into 100 additional residential units, for a total of 822 apartments, of which 145 will be permanently deeded below market rate.
Northland had returned to the City Council, post-Covid, to ask for the amended special permit because of the decrease in demand for commercial space since many offices had begun operating remotely. Downsizing of commercial space has been a factor in other proposed commercial projects, as well.
The City Council approval on May 5 follows the unanimous decision by the Land Use Committee to support the revisions in the amended special permit. It was on the docket for the previous City Council meeting, but City Councilor Randall Block “chartered” (postponed) the item, requiring that it be brought to the next full City Council meeting for approval.
Councilor Block’s concern was the traffic impact of the project on the already intense congestion on Needham Street, which bounds the development. Citing traffic studies giving the Needham/Oak Street intersection a “D” level of service – which would evolve into an “F” level with the new project – he argued that “this kind of traffic jam will, in my opinion, have a significant negative impact on the neighborhood.”
City Councilor Pam Wright was another “no” vote, citing a steady decline in the city’s commercial zone. As a result, the City tax burden is then carried by residential units, making it more difficult for families to stay here and new families to afford to buy in Newton. (Commercial property is taxed at twice the rate of residential property.) Citing several projects that are being developed in phases, Councilor Wright suggested that Northland should have left more open space for later commercial development. “The City is squandering prime real estate away from commercial space,” she said.
Similarly, Councilor Julia Malakie said it was not the Council’s “job to insulate companies….from the risks of real estate development.” In her assessment, “accepting the loss of 193,000 sq. ft. of office space because (of) current weak demand and current high vacancy rates is short-term thinking for the city.” Once the Saco-Pettee Mill building becomes residential, “we’ll likely never get it back as commercial, even when the demand for office space recovers.”
“Clearly we would have preferred the added revenue for the City that the fully rented or reasonably rentable commercial space would bring,” Councilor Alan Lobovits told his colleagues, indicating that he would be a “yes” vote. He said, “An empty undeveloped mill building might not be assessed at full commercial use.” At the same time, he welcomed the additional affordable housing and agreed that developing commercial property “is more imperative than ever.”
All three of Ward 5’s City Councilors supported the Northland project, which is in their ward. Councilor Andreae Downs said that the reduction in buildings will mean a reduction in traffic and that limiting the parking to one space per unit would mean that people who do not require a parking space will not have to pay for one. In her closing, she emphasized the project’s sustainability, the fact that it preserves the historic mill building, and is better than “the current dirt lot that is there now.”
Conceding that she would have preferred the original Northland request if reduced by 25% to make the site more functional and diminish the traffic impact, Councilor Rena Getz said, “Northland needs to move forward in an expeditious manner so that we as a City realize the tax revenue from the site.” Lamenting the loss of commercial access to the Saco-Pettee Mill building, she concluded, “[M]any wish Northland to succeed, but, more importantly we, as a city, need Northland to succeed.”
Councilors Block, Malakie, Oliver and Wright cast the four “no” votes.