Newton City Council Committees Approve NewCAL Plans

NEWTON, MA — Two Newton City Council Committees voted Wednesday to endorse plans to approve plans for the Newton Center for Active Living (NewCAL).

In what Mayor Ruthanne Fuller called a “major step forward,” the councilors endorsed the current NewCAL plans and approved property acquisition to replace the current Newton Senior Center in Newtonville with a new facility.

The City Council’s Programs and Services Committee approved the acquisition of an abutting home at 47 Walnut Place and the Public Facilities Committee approved the site plan for NewCAL at the site of the current Senior Center at 345 Walnut Street.

"After more than four years of planning, we are on track to begin construction next spring,” Fuller said in a community update Thursday.

The Design Review Committee and the City Council’s Finance Committee will be weighing in during the next few weeks, said Fuller. The plans then go to the full City Council on Monday, August 8 for a final vote on land acquisition, project funding and building plans.