Last December, the City Council approved the fourth rendition of the Riverside development plan, which has been more than a decade in the making.

But now, in a bit of development deja vu, Riverside is back at the start of the approval process, as property owner Mark Development has partnered with developer Greystar and Harbert South Bay, a development firm that specializes in senior housing.

The new plan keeps the retail component that was approved last year. But instead of 309 regular apartments, the project now focuses on senior living, which includes 267 assisted living and memory care units. That means 42 fewer housing units on the site.

In lieu of affordable units (since “affordable” assisted living units aren’t feasible), Mark Development plans to pay $4,350,000 to fund affordable housing elsewhere in Newton.

Joel Sherman, senior managing partner for Harbert South Bay, gave an overview of the new concept to the Riverside Liaison Committee in August, which you can watch in its entirety on NewTV, and some minor changes were made in September for the start of the special permit process (you can see that update here).

The new site design has more public space than previous renditions, with gardens instead of a play area along Grove Street (which will also help with stormwater mitigation) and a smaller parking garage inside the complex.

And there will be fewer parking spots. The earlier plan had more than 1,070 parking spaces, with 980 above ground and 90 underneath two of the buildings.

At the liaison meeting Marc Development CEO Robert Korff said the plan now has fewer spots because assisted living residents typically don’t drive. Korff has assured the city, and will likely have to do some more convincing in the Land Use Committee, that there will be enough parking for retail and the MBTA station.

Riverside is set to go before Land Use next Tuesday at 7 p.m., for approval of the changes, before it goes to the City Council for another vote.

If the new special permit is approved, construction will begin next spring and is expected to take about four years.