Newton's Austin Street Project To Begin Construction Next Month

NEWTON, MA — For years the city has been looking at the possibility of turning the Austin Street parking lot into a mixed-use development project. Dec. 14 that - at times controversial - proposal edged forward as the City of Newton and Austin Street Partners officially signed the lease for the site of the Austin Street.

It is the first time that a ground lease has been signed for a property without a structure on it in Newton. Austin Street Partners will pay the city $1,050,000 for lease of the land and the real estate taxes based on the assessed value.

The mayor's office is touting the public-private partnership as one that will bring housing and retail space to Newtonville. The project proposes space for retail and restaurants, a public plaza, and more than 120 spaces for public parking, as a nod to those who protested the notion of fewer parking spaces with the loss of the lot.

The development will also include 68 apartments for rent, 23 (33 percent) of which will be considered affordable. But all 68 apartments will count toward the Subsidized Housing Inventory.

Mayor Setti warren called the lease signing a milestone.

“While I am proud to have been a champion of this concept for my time in office, I know that we would not be here without the business community, activists, and residents who supported this work for many years dating to before I came into office," he said.

Scott Oran, a developer of the Austin Street developer also called the lease signing a milestone in a joint press release. “This has been and will continue to be a truly unique and long-term public-private partnership," he said.

As soon as the group gets the final permits construction on the site will begin. Written into the lease are the number of housing units authorized, the size and shape of the building, additional payments for the streetscape and utility work, construction of the public plaza, and maintenance of the City-operated municipal parking lot.

Construction is expected to begin in January 2018, with initial foundation work, and to begin in earnest in March 2018. The project is slated for up to a 15-month construction period, with the building opening by summer 2019.

Next Liaison Committee Meeting

Wednesday January 10

7 pm at Newton City Hall, Room 205

More info here.

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Photo of the Austin Street parking lots courtesy Google Maps. Plans courtesy Newton City Hall.