Editor’s disclosure: Alan Schlesinger, an attorney for Northland quoted in this story, is a member of the Newton Beacon Board of Directors.

After more than five years of delays, the Northland Development is back in the approval process.

Northland has made some changes to its plan for a large apartment complex on Oak Street in Upper Falls, and the development firm is now trying to get those changes through the approval process while work at the site continues.

On Tuesday, members of the public had the opportunity to comment and ask questions during a public hearing with the Land Use Committee.

The background

The City Council approved the Northland project in 2019, when the proposal included 800 housing units (140 set as affordable), 115,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, and 193,200 square feet of office space in the former Saco-Pettee Mill building.

Utility work has begun, and a new splash park has been completed on the property.

“At the same time, however, Northland has faced the hard reality that office vacancies have reached historically high levels,” Alan Schlesinger of Schlesinger & Buchbinder Law Firm, representing the developer, said. “Of the 22 office buildings within three miles of the project, the average vacancy rate is 31 percent, representing approximately 1 million square feet of available office space.”

This has become a trend, as the company handling the Riverside development is also asking for changes to replace commercial space with housing.

“Northland’s choice—an expensive choice, but Northland’s choice—and the proposal before you tonight is to take the hit.”

The changes

Northland’s new plan is to scrap the office space and convert the Saco-Pettee Mill into residential lofts.

The changes would cut the project’s size by 10 percent and result in less traffic coming into and out of the 22.6-acre property during peak traffic hours, according to the developer.

“Approximately 85 percent of the site is unchanged,” Kathryn Winters, also an attorney with Schlesinger & Buchbinder said.

The new plan:

• Eliminates five small buildings
• Has 822 residential units, with 144 of them set as “affordable” based on area median income
• Has about 96,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space
• Turns the Saco-Pettee Mill into 100 apartments (instead of office space as originally planned)
• Adds open space and more surface parking.

Crews have been busy installing paved roadways, drainage infrastructure and underground conduits, and the new public splash park is set to open this summer.

“In total, over $78 million has already been spent on the site and utility work,” Winters said. And it would only be a slight exaggeration to say that the project has largely been built, except for the buildings.”

This updated Northland Development site design reflects the elimination of office space in favor of more housing. Northland Development

The feedback

Reaction at the public hearing was a mixed bag of optimism and caution.

“My biggest problem with this new design is parking,” Jack Neville, who’s lived in Upper Falls since 1965 and serves as president of its Area Council, said. “Parking, parking, parking. That’s our problem in Upper Falls.”

The change to the plan eliminating office space decreased the number of parking spaces from 1,300 to 1,070.

Neville also said that the Upper Falls Area Council is opposed to having an entrance and exit on Oak Street, given the nearby stoplights.

In contrast, Sean Roche of Newton Centre thinks there is too much parking with the new plan.

“There’s still too much parking, and I think since this [the 2019 version] was first presented and approved, we have learned a lot about parking and parking utilization—at Trio and Austin Street—and 1,070 for 800 units and reduced amount of commercial space just strikes me as way too much parking,” Roche said. “And we know that parking generates traffic.”

Deb Crossley—architect, former city councilor and Upper Falls resident—called the new design “brilliant.”

“I think it’s the best project Newton has produced in my 40 years here,” Crossley said. “To me, this should be a no-brainer, as they say.”

Crossley noted that the elimination of office space would mean less traffic on the site.

“These folks have hired the best and the brightest, and these buildings and the spaces between them—the open spaces that all of the public and all of Upper Falls will be able to use—are simply beautiful,” Crossley said.

Lynne Weissberg seconded Crossley’s sentiment and added that the changes were due to market forces out of the developer’s control.

“This is a project that is being scaled back in ways that the market has demanded, circumstances beyond the developer’s control,” Weissberg said. “The changes are relatively minor and reduce the density and reduce the traffic that was the concern of people who had opposed the original project.”

Janet Sterman of Newton Corner spoke sternly against the plan to cut commercial space from a development with so many tenants.

“Just the availability of space for doctor’s offices, rehab services, any kind of commercial services you can get in a commercial center where commercial space is available—I’m highly concerned that we’re allowing them to eliminate that,” Sterman said.

Sterman also balked at the idea that Newton needs more housing.

“I’m sorry, but there’s so much housing that’s going to be available in Newton in rental apartments, this can slow down a little bit more,” Sterman said. “I think we need to take a very, very clear look at what we’re doing with things like this, and making this change should not be done quickly or at the whim of the Planning Department.”

Gail Deegan of Newtonville, however, noted the financial volatility that can come with construction delays.

“Time is not in favor of anything,” Deegan said. “When a developer or a homeowner makes a decision to buy property or build a home, they have a certain set of assumptions about the financials.”

In Northland’s case, the project was approved before COVID-19 hit, before inflation sent construction costs through the stratosphere and before office space went out of demand.

“Northland has come back with an excellent proposal, and we need to approve it as soon as possible just to get it done,” she added.

Oak Hill resident Caroline Kraft called the project design “beautiful” but suggested removing some floors from the residential buildings to spread out the housing and lower the project’s height.

She also suggested examining how many people would use bicycles, given the project has set aside space to park 1,100 bicycles.

“It seems like more of an ideology that maybe the Planning Department lives by, but I don’t know if the residents here really live like that,” Kraft said.

You can watch the entire public hearing on NewTV’s YouTube channel.

The public hearing for Northland will continue at a Land Use Committee meeting next month.