Good morning,

Today, we have big news about what would be a significant turnover in Wellesley’s downtown real estate ownership, plus the first of many multi-family projects in Watertown Square.  

There are also two projects going before the Newton City Council this month, representing a total of 820 new places for people to live.

Plus, I’m interested in your opinion about the plaza pilot project in Newton Centre.

Much of Wellesley Square could soon change hands

A definitive building in the heart of Wellesley Square just went on the market,

while we’re also waiting to see what happens with an even larger property right across the street, along with another portfolio of properties across town.

The Rotunda Building, at the corner of Grove and Washington Streets has just been listed by Boston Reality Advisors.

The Grossman Companies-owned property incorporates 32,076 SF of office space and ground-level retail and is 82% leased, according to the listing. The 1930s-era brick building underwent renovations in 2016.

Meanwhile, we’re still waiting for confirmation of the sale of the massive Taylor Block  – comprising 70,000 SF of two- and three-story buildings with shops and restaurants on the ground floor and some offices and apartments upstairs -- across the street from the Rotunda at 540-568 Washington Street.

A developer with Wellesley roots reportedly had an agreement to purchase
”The Taylor” from Sullivan & Co. through Colliers months ago.  But a final sale was never announced.

There’s more:  We’re also anticipating the sale of another portion of Haynes Management’s Wellesley portfolio (Jumbo Capital acquired a seven-building office portfolio from Haynes in 2023), which reportedly drew offers in August with a second round to follow.

Watertown Square gets its first new housing proposals

Less than a year after the Watertown City Council approved its MBTA Communities Act zoning district, as part of the city’s ambitious Watertown Square placemaking plan, two projects (representing nearly 100 new places for people to live) are moving forward.

First, at 108 Water Street, Eaglebrook Capital and WSQ Development are proposing a 52-unit multifamily project on the site of an old office building. Located just down Galen Street behind Direct Tire, this 5.5-story building would include 27 parking spaces, taking advantage of the new zoning’s reduced parking minimums. (Rendering above)

A hybrid community meeting is scheduled for Mon., Sept. 15, at 6 p.m.

Next, Torrington Properties has also filed plans for a 40-unit mixed-use development at 33 Mount Auburn Street.

Currently home to a hole in the ground, this property is steps from the center of Watertown Square, adjacent to Halva Mediterranean Grill.

The proposal includes 2,475 SF of ground-floor commercial space topped by five floors of apartments. A community meeting has yet to be announced.

Two big development developments in Newton

Luxury home builder Cindy Stumpo goes before the Newton City Council’s Land Use Committee tonight (Tues.) to present her proposal to build 70 new single-family attached dwellings across 26 buildings at 85 Dudley Rd., near Newton South High School.

And Mark Development's third attempt at transforming the Riverside Station parking lot and former Hotel Indigo site will have its first public hearing before Land Use on Sept. 16. The new plan includes 750 housing units (151 affordable) in six buildings as well as 20,000 SF of ground-floor commercial space.

Tuesday grab bag

• The always-fun Faire on the Square returns this Saturday (Sept. 13) in Watertown, noon to 5 p.m. at Saltonstall Park.  Hope to see you there.
• Newton Night is one week from tomorrow.
• The first residents will begin moving into 2Life Communities’ Opus Newton on Winchester Street on Monday. The unique senior living community includes 172 residential units for middle-income seniors.
• The Envision Needham Center website has been updated (with crash data and possibly an unnecessary amount of rehashing what’s been done to date, considering this is a reboot). Tomorrow (Weds), 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall and via Zoom, the consultants hired by the town will present three new scenarios for Great Plain Ave.
• Newton Community Pride, a 36-year-old nonprofit dedicated to enriching the city through arts, culture, and community events, has a new name: Spark Newton.
• Boston College has downsized its Office of Sustainability and will not hire a new manager of sustainability or student interns this year.  “Despite these changes, our commitment to sustainability remains unwavering,” the university said. (BC Heights)
• Feeling overwhelmed by a barrage of news? Read Why Americans Can’t — And Shouldn’t — Lose Hope.
• Just to be safe, you may also want to undermine evil by purchasing its lightsaber.

Sept. 11 events in our communities on Thursday

• Needham’s Fire and Police Departments host a remembrance ceremony beginning at 10 a.m. outside the Public Safety Building.
• Watertown’s Fire Department will hold a brief ceremony to remember the 343 New York firefighters lost at 10 a.m.
• Wellesley’s Sept. 11 ceremony takes place at 10 a.m. at Wellesley Fire Department headquarters.
• Newton’s 9-11 Memorial Committee and the City of Newton will have its annual 9-11 commemoration on the front lawn of the Newton Centre Fire Department headquarters at 6 pm.  

Should it stay, or should it go?

Mayor Ruthanne Fuller’s proposal to convert a section of the Newton Centre triangle parking lot into a public plaza generated heaps of concerns from business owners and others who worried about the loss of parking when it was first announced back in January.

However, now that it's been up and running since June, many merchants tell us they like it and have come to appreciate its benefits, or at least recognize its potential.

Located adjacent to the Newton Centre Green, the plaza is within walking distance of 36 restaurants and bakeries, 25 retail shops, and 29 salons and spas, according to All Over Newton, which has created an online plaza dining guide.

“This project brings the community together, increases foot traffic, and supports lots of local, small businesses,” says All Over Newton’s Lauren Berman.

In the coming days, Fuller must decide whether to keep the pilot project open through the winter or remove the furniture and fixtures in October as planned and put them into storage.

After that, it will presumably be up to Newton’s next mayor to decide if it continues or goes up on eBay.

Here’s what frontrunner Marc Laredo told me last week when I asked him about it.

Have you been there? Did it inspire you to spend more time and/or money in Newton Centre?  

Or, do you miss the parking and want to see it removed permanently?

Let me know.

And that’s what you need to know for today — International Buy a Priest a Beer Day — unless you need to know about the guy who carries 60 pounds of ice cream to the top of one of Colorado’s tallest mountains to hand out to hikers.

You don’t have to climb a mountain to get ice cream from one of our chamber members.

Be back later this week.

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.

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