New Details About Next Steps For Newbury College Campus

BROOKLINE, MA — Brookline officials are getting closer to buying part of the Newbury College Campus from the Ohio developer which bought the property last year and is planning to turn a section of the campus into a senior living facility.

"There will be multiple warrant articles for the entire Newbury project and a debt exclusion for the Town to purchase the west side," Select Board Chairperson Bernard Greene told Patch.

Welltower, a senior care developer inked a deal to buy the Newbury College Campus last summer. It plans to develop the east side of the campus and in July offered to sell the west side of the property - closest to Fisher Hill Park - to the town.

A number of Town Meeting members and residents have expressed hope that the nearly 8-acre property, which came on the market last spring, could help ease crowding concerns at Brookline Public Schools or use it for town outdoor swimming pool or Department of Public Works. Although no one seemed to be able to agree on what it could be used for, they did seem to agree it was worth purchasing. Then the select board set up a committee to look into whether it would be feasible to purchase the portion of the property.

On Tuesday night the Select board approved the Newbury Zoning Committee's recommendation to green light a preliminary agreement with Welltower's development of the Newbury College campus on Fisher Hill and will put the question of buying the West side of the property for $14.8 million to Town Meeting this spring.

"This agreement was reached after extensive and productive negotiations between the Welltower project team and the Town’s Newbury Campus Zoning Committee," according to Greene.

The plan is for Welltower to transform the East side of the campus into a 160 unit senior housing complex with independent living, assisted living and skilled memory care. Then New Atlantic Development, a Boston based developer of affordable housing, will develop The Holland Hall site. Holland Hall, where the college once housed its English department, will be turned into 18 units of mixed income affordable housing.

The town would buy the West side of the campus for $14.8 million for town use. Down the line, and after major public process, it could be used for a school, officials said.

In the preliminary agreement, Welltower agreed to commit to avoid using fossil fuels for heating and cooling and would look into sustainable designs, and preserve the old trees lining Fisher Hill.

The Select Board plans to file warrant articles for town meeting approval and, if passed, will turn to voters on May 5 to approve a tax override to help pay for it.

Read more: Full summary prepared for the Select Board

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).