City Council focuses on revised plan for Riverside

Newton’s Land Use Committee held its first hearing Tuesday on Mark Development’s proposed revision to its approved development planned at the Riverside MBTA station. Reflecting market movement away from commercial development, the revision would reduce office space and increase residential units from 550 to 750.

The meeting included presentations from Mark Development, the Planning and Development Board, and independent peer reviews ordered by the City Council. The peer reviews found the site within the grade of “reasonable” but requested elaboration on the urban design, traffic control, and parking spaces. 

No formal vote on the development was held. Instead the Council unanimously decided to hold the Riverside Development vote to a future meeting. The next Land Use Committee meeting for the Riverside development will be held October 7. 

In 2024, Mark Development had announced its proposed revision and last July filed a rezoning request to convert three parcels on Grove Street from business to mixed-use zoning. The revised plan calls for six residential buildings, ground-floor retail, and 1,119 parking spaces – a major revision of the developer’s original proposal. 

Four years ago, after multiple revisions to the project, Mark Development won approval to develop nearly 370,000 square feet of office and lab space on the parking lot near the Riverside MBTA station. But COVID-19, rising interest rates, and soaring construction costs soon forced the company to retool its plan, according to Robert Korff, CEO of Mark Development.

And now the proposed revision to the project is facing a December 31 deadline – the conclusion of the current City Council’s term. “If we don’t get a vote by year end, then we would have to start all over again with a new council next year,” Korff said.

Mark Development’s revised plan envisions buildings of four to seven stories with ground-floor retail and enough space to house 1,200 to 1,600 people. About half of the units would be two- or three-bedroom residences. Korff said the housing-focused approach would cut traffic by more than half, compared to the earlier office plan. 

But not all neighboring residents are sold on the project. At a September 4 community meeting, neighbors voiced concerns about the project’s size, traffic impact, and strain on local schools. 

“Overall, the project, to me, looks dense and more urban than typical Newton neighborhoods,” said Richard Alfred, who has lived on Grove Street for 37 years and chairs the Auburndale Historic District Commission. “Grove Street is a street where many, many children walk to school.”

Other residents questioned whether a single entrance and exit could handle the traffic, and worried about adding an estimated 70 new students to Williams Elementary School. Janet Brennan described the development’s proposed play area as being “smaller than my house lot,” despite about 45% of the available bed space planned for family-sized units. 

But Scott Nagel, who walks past the proposed development daily, called it a “fantastic project” that would make Grove Street safer for pedestrians. Mark Development outlined public space, paved surfaces, and safer road traffic in their zoning memo for the revised project.

“The current conditions walking from Lower Falls to Riverside are, I would say, minimally acceptable for a fit 42-year-old,” Nagel said. Referring to traffic mitigation measures in the revised plans, he said, “The roundabouts and the shared-use path, I really think are going to be a major improvement.” 

Commuters offered mixed reactions. Jonathon Thomas, a power plant operator who frequently uses the Riverside station, worried about losing parking during construction but also saw potential benefits of different retail options. “I can imagine it would be a good thing to hop off at Riverside after a Sox game and go take your kids out to a bite of ice cream,” he said.

Samantha Fecteau, a 19-year-old student who commutes to school, voiced her concern about train delays, given the shuttle bus replacements for the Riverside branch in the last year. “If they get it done quick, great,” she said. “If not, I sure hope we don’t end up with the shuttle bus fiasco where it takes two hours both ways.”

The project would meet Newton’s Passive House construction standards for energy efficiency, but it falls short of the developer’s previous assurance that 25% of available units would qualify as affordable housing. The revised plan includes 151 affordable units, just over 20% of the available residences. 

“It’s unfortunate, given our economic times,” Korff told Fig City News. “But we are dealing in some very tough economic headwinds.”

Ward 4 City Councilor Joshua Krintzman, who has worked on various versions of the project since 2009, said he supports a mixed-use development but regrets losing the Hotel Indigo. He credited a liaison committee formed in 2009 with fostering collaboration between developers, neighbors, and City officials.

“Fifteen years in the future, I would like to see a development there that is viewed favorably by the residents and the surrounding neighborhoods of Auburndale and Lower Falls as a place where folks like to go, live, and build community,” he said.

Korff, a Newton resident since 1995, said the project helps to address the state’s housing shortage. “At a time in our history where we have a severe housing shortage, this is a picture-perfect opportunity … and there’s a tremendous need for it.”

The Land Use Committee will hold additional hearings as the project tracks toward potential construction by December 31. The next public meeting of the Land Use Committee will be held on October 7 at Newton City Hall and hybrid on Zoom. Mark Development said it will address parking issues and offer detailed plans for retail options at the next meeting. 

Councilor Krintzman believes the year-end deadline can be met, saying the groundwork done over the past few years should enable the Council to complete the Special Permit process — and finally bring the long-delayed project into the station.

Parker Maslowski is a junior majoring in journalism at Boston University. His work for Fig City News is through the BU Newsroom program, which pairs students with local news organizations.