Long-awaited Newton housing, retail project lands $220M financing
A long-planned retail and housing development in Newton has received $220 million in financing to begin construction on the 23-acre site.
Newton-based Northland said it will launch a first phase of 315 apartments to be built in two new buildings and in the Saco Pettee Mill, a brick building that runs along the site’s southern edge in Newton Upper Falls. It’ll also include a one-acre green space.
In total, the plan calls for 822 housing units and 96,000 square feet of retail. Earlier plans called for more office space, but Northland Investment Corp. officials said falling demand for offices necessitated a shift.
The updated plan was approved by the Newton City Council last May. The funding, secured Dec. 23 from JPMorganChase, was first reported Wednesday by Banker & Tradesman.
In addition to beginning construction, Northland has contributed its first installment to the city of Newton for road and sewer repairs, and funds for the nearby Countryside Elementary School, Larry Gottesdiener, Northland’s founder and chairman, said in a statement to the Business Journal. That totals $4.43 of an estimated $8.35 million.
Northland has owned the site for nearly five decades.
“Through dramatic shifts in the marketplace, rising construction costs and a global pandemic, we invested over $100 million in site and infrastructure improvements, as our commitment to this landmark development never wavered,” Gottesdiener said.
The project would bring new life to an expanse of Needham Street near the Needham town line. The property used to be a shopping plaza, with a Marshalls, CVS and others, as well as offices. The only part remaining, the Saco Pettee Mill next to Oak Street, will be converted to apartments.
The development is one of two big projects in Newton that may finally be moving forward after years of planning.
The other, at the MBTA Green Line’s Riverside station, is planned to include 755 housing units and 20,000 square feet of retail. The project, first proposed in 2007, doesn’t have a timeline for construction but officials from Newton-based Mark Development told the Business Journal last month that it hopes to have a timetable established early this year.
Northland is also the developer of another Boston-area residential project, The Merc in Waltham.
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