Why many small developers avoid Newton
Charles River Regional Chamber
We support businesses and nonprofits in Newton, Needham, Wellesley, Watertown and surrounding communities.
Good morning friends,
In Tuesday’s newsletter, I suggested we thank government workers, many of whom are serving us under challenging and demoralizing conditions these days.
Here’s another suggestion: Don’t tune out.
Wanting to avoid the news these days is understandable.
But our democracy depends on an informed and engaged public. Hundreds of journalists across a spectrum of national and local media entities are doing essential and genuinely excellent reporting right now, under chilling and demoralizing conditions.
Follow their work and, importantly, subscribe. ?That’s the only way this works.
Watertown finds new way to take advantage of lab market
The City of Watertown benefited handsomely from the life science boom.
Now, it’s taking advantage of its slowdown.
City Manager George Proakis is in the process of purchasing a property on the city’s west side that had been permitted to be a lab building but never broke ground, Watertown News reports.
The Nordblom Company purchased the former Sterritt Lumber site at 148 Waltham St. for $6.2 million in 2019. One year later, the developer presented a proposal for a 253-apartment building under Chapter 40B, but ran into stiff neighborhood opposition.
So Nordblom pivoted to a lab project in 2022 and received approval and permits from the city.
Alas, the project never attracted a tenant. ?Instead, the city will purchase the 2-acre site (estimated to have been worth $30 million to $40 million during the height of the lab boom, notes Greg Ryan at the BBJ) for the bargain price of $9.2 million.
Proakis says he’s considering “a couple of possibilities” for the site: affordable housing, a senior center, DPW facility, or “possibilities that we haven’t even identified yet.”
The purchase will be paid in full by tapping into the city’s $43 million cash reserves, funds that no doubt exist, in part, thanks to the many other lab projects Watertown permitted over the years. ?
Healey: Many will suffer from eds and meds cuts
Gov. Maura Healey is warning that federal cuts to the National Institutes of Health and other education and health research funding is a “clear and present danger” that will have wide-ranging consequences across many sectors.
“This is a big deal for our state,” Healey said at a Boston Chamber event this week.
“You may not be a life sciences company, but your business is impacted. Every business, every resident is impacted by what happens in life sciences.”
Massachusetts receives around $3.5 billion in NIH funding each year. Healey said everyone from law firms to construction companies to banks?would feel the pinch, reports John Chesto at the Globe.
The only one benefiting would be China, which is already in the process of recruiting researchers and faculty members, she added.
And Markey warns: Slashing SBA will harm small businesses
The Small Business Administration’s firing of hundreds of its employees could hurt its ability to work with small businesses, writes Andy Medici at the Business Journals,
Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Small Business, wrote in a letter that the SBA’s workforce purge could impact disaster relief and loan oversight at the SBA.
Politico reported the SBA fired around 720 workers —roughly 20 percent of its permanent workforce.
Friday grab bag
Needham company expects another productive year
SharkNinja is on track to launch 25 new products in 2025, a similar amount to last year. That includes the Creami Swirl,a soft-serve ice cream maker that debuted this month, reports Jon Chesto at the Globe.
The Needham company’s 1,100-person workforce keeps growing with nearly 80 open positions to fill, most of them new.
New EPA stormwater rules could carry heavy cost
If you own or manage commercial, industrial or institutional property with one acre or more of impervious surface (parking lots, driveways, rooftops, etc.) in any of our Charles River Chamber communities, you should be aware of the proposed new storm water regulations.
Despite changes in Washington, the EPA is moving forward with regulations requiring properties to obtain a permit and take steps to reduce stormwater runoff.
This could mean hefty new costs and compliance requirements for affected properties.
Have thoughts on the draft regulation? The EPA is accepting public comments until March 17. ?Share them with the EPA and let us know what you think too.
Why many small developers avoid Newton
Finally, a powerful neighborhood group in Newton’s Nonantum neighborhood scored another win this week, if you consider preserving a vacant lot in your village a win.
The city council’s Land Use Committee voted against allowing a zoning change that would have allowed building a modest 13-unit condo development (with three affordable units) on a lot that’s literally been a hole in the ground for five years.
This development at 386-390 Watertown Street?is proposed by John Mula, a local barber who owns a shop around the corner. He’s been trying to build on the lot since 2017. ?But COVID and more recent market conditions made his original proposal untenable. So he’s seeking to expand his special permit by three units and a half story and obtain a necessary zoning change.
Throughout Tuesday's?meeting, most residents and city councilors agreed that the all-electric project was well-suited to the neighborhood, commending its small scale (unit size varies between 700-1100 SF), safety enhancements and inclusion of retail space. Most (not all) said they like Mula too.
(See Fig City News and Newton Beacon stories)
But opponents argued that granting the zoning change would set a precedent for future zoning changes. However, that argument was suspect when one of the neighborhood’s leaders said, “Nonantum has done its share for the housing crisis.”
Uniquely, all three Ward 1 councilors (Oliver, Leary and Greenberg) representing Nonantum support the project.
Nonetheless, the committee denied the zoning change, 4-3, and was deadlocked, 4-4, on granting a special permit. (Disappointingly, City Council President Marc Laredo demonstrated a lack of leadership and abstained on the zoning.)
This friends, is why so many small developers don’t even try to build in Newton.
Still, Mula’s plan isn’t dead yet. ?Despite the unfavorable report, the project heads to the full city council Monday.
That means it’s not too late to let the council know that you support allowing this independent local business owner to build his modest project and provide reasonably priced home ownership opportunities for 13 individuals and families.
And that’s what you need to know today, ?unless you haven’ t seen the footage of thousands of dolphins swimming together?in California's Monterey Bay
Every day is a right day to shop at independent stores.
See you next week.
Greg Reibman (he, him)
President & CEO
Charles River Regional Chamber
617.244.1688
P.S. I value your feedback.