Riverside Development Proposal In Newton Gets More Pushback

NEWTON, MA — Residents packed the city council chambers Tuesday night, many of whom were there to oppose the latest steps that would push a years-old development project forward at the Riverside MBTA station.

"We're not coming at it from a NIMBY standpoint," said Robert Shriver, who lives near the proposed site, during the public hearing. It is more a concern about land use and impact on the local communities, he said.

Others noted traffic concerns, calling the added development "untenable."

"How is a massive Riverside project not going to destroy our neighborhood?" said one resident.

Others spoke about a need for a balanced perspective.

The Riverside Development Project is a proposal to incorporate a mix of housing, office, hotel and retail with parking for both the Riverside MBTA station and the new uses. In the works since 2012, the development will sit on a portion of the Riverside MBTA land. The MBTA will maintain ownership of the land, but that the developer would have an 85-year lease with in order to create a development, according to the city.

The project would develop 15 acres of a 25 acre total site that includes the MBTA tracks and service area, near the intersection of routes 90 and 95 and the end of the MBTA green line.

City officials say they've long been looking for a place to develop for housing, and the large parking lot area wedged between the highway and the T station has long been identified as an ideal spot.

The developer will be headed to the meeting to ask the board to change the zoning and to petition for a special permit to construct a 10 building, mixed use, transit-oriented development of not more than 1,520,000 sq. ft. and more than 20,000 sq. ft. of gross floor area including; up to 650,000 sq. ft. of office use, up to 750 residential units containing no more than 750,000 sq. ft., retail space of not more than 200,000 sq. ft., buildings up to 18-stories in height, according to the docket.

But those opposed to the project say the development will forever change the face of Newton and fear the leafy corner of Newton will become too citified, complaining of noise issues, too tall of buildings and traffic.

Mark Development proposes to bring in 675 apartment units. The Lower Falls Improvement Association's group "Right Size Newton," which is against the proposal, points out there are 499 housing units in all of Newton Lower Falls.

Neighbors opposed to the development also argue the site is not isolated.

And then there's the issue of process. Residents from Right Size Newton said they planned to challenge the legality of holding land use hearings when zoning hadn't been yet decided.

Still, not everyone was opposed to the development.

Those who expressed support from the project noted affordable housing units such as those proposed at the Riverside development would allow younger people, teachers and others to live in the city.

"Millennials and young people want to be here," said one Newton renter who said she was a Newton teacher who was priced out of living in the city. "We need to make living here more accessible."

One man said the problem wasn't with the housing component, but with the office and business component.

This discussion comes as a number of developments are proposed across the city, including an 800 unit development in Newton Upper Falls, which is the largest of its kind the city has seen in recent memory. It also comes amid a rezoning of the city.

It’s not that people really disagree on what we want in a society," Randy Block the president of the neighborhood association's committee working on opposing the project told Patch following the public hearing. "It’s partly how do we balance these different goals that we all have?"

Goals, like raising revenue through taxes for the city, bringing in more housing and affordable housing, ensuring that the city not contribute to climate change and traffic, he said.

Watch the two sides, one opposed to the site, another for the proposal and a third noting the environmental potential:

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).