On May 19, Countryside Elementary School held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new school building. Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, Superintendent Anna Nolin, Countryside Principal Beth Herlihy, and Mary Pichetti, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), spoke at the ceremony. The new Countryside School…
Posts published in “Projects”
In her budget address to the City, Mayor Fuller outlined nine levers the City can pull to address our budget challenges, especially those related to funding schools. Of her nine points, only two were truly long-term solutions aimed at increasing revenue: a tax increase for everyone in the form of…
There will be a topping-off ceremony for the new Cooper Center for Active Living on Thursday, April 17, 10AM in front of Aji Restaurant (340 Walnut Street, Newtonville).
As an Upper Falls resident supporting the Northland development and its recent permitting amendment, I would like to both expose one fallacy in the opponents’ arguments, and offer one proposal for a compromise. The fallacy concerns the alleged higher taxes from offices vs. residences. This might be the case at current…
Although the Land Use Committee had voted unanimously to accept the withdrawal of applications for a zoning change and a special permit to allow for a four-story, 13-unit project at 386-390 Watertown Street, the topic was discussed again in the March 17 City Council meeting. The docket included both items…
Tuesday night was difficult for me as a member of the Land Use Committee. I witnessed a very promising, small infill development proposed for a vacant lot in the heart of a Nonantum be withdrawn by the applicant after months of meetings and negotiations. The proposed building included thirteen very modest-sized…
The Newton Food Pantry announced plans for the construction of Newton’s first standalone food pantry, to be completed by Spring 2026, according to a March 3 press release. The single-story building, to be built on an empty lot at 131 Rumford Avenue in Auburndale, will be an upgrade from the…
After much discussion and debate in the March 11 Land Use Committee meeting, the owner of 386-390 Watertown Street withdrew his request for a zoning change and a special permit. At the March 4 City Council Land Use Committee meeting, members had learned that the ongoing zoning change and special…
Before the March 3 City Council meeting, which was to consider rezoning and a special permit for the much disputed property at 386-390 Watertown Street, two emails circulated, informing some Councilors and the Council President that the property had been sold the day before a key Land Use hearing on…
After three hours of free-ranging debate on the pros and cons of granting both a zoning change and a special permit for 368-390 Watertown Street in Nonantum to allow for the addition of another floor and three more units, the Land Use Committee voted to defeat both items. Nonantum Neighborhood…