Good morning friends,

Seven hundred and fifty individuals or families could one day have an opportunity to enjoy all that Auburndale has to offer, with the added benefit of being able to hop onto the Green Line, I-95 and bike and walking trails.

That’s Mark Development’s refined vision for the Riverside MBTA Station and the former Hotel Indigo site, a saga that’s suffered from multiple set backs since 2009.

The scaled-back proposal, presented in an upbeat Newton City Council meeting last night, no longer includes 370,00 SF of office and labs. But it adds 200 more places for people to call home, plus over 20,000 SF of retail.

Notable for Newton (and this project’s storied history) the presentation yielded overwhelmingly positive support during public comment last night.

In fact, council candidate Sean Roche called the whole thing “boring” for the lack of dueling testimony that’s become commonplace. (He was not complaining.)

Fig City News has more.

A proposal in Wellesley wasn’t greeted as warmly

In contrast, things were about as tense as they get at Wellesley Town Hall last night.

That’s when the select and planning boards heard from MassBay Community College about its plan to redevelop an underutilized parking lot just off of Route 9 into multifamily housing to fund a gym (they don’t have one now) and space for its flourishing cybersecurity program.

The project is not subject to Wellesley’s zoning bylaws, due to a provision in the Healey administration’s Affordable Homes Act, which gives the state the ability to convert property it owns into housing with minimal local approvals.

Which — as we’ve seen time and time again — may be the only way to build the housing we urgently need in many Massachusetts communities.

In this case, the town must permit at least four units per acre— totaling 180 units on this site.  And that lack of local control was the source of last night’s angst.

Adam Baacke, commissioner of the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DECAM), made the state’s case for addressing the housing crisis while conceding the conflict: “We will not achieve consensus on this project, but we hope to make people proud of it.”

It quickly became clear that some negotiations between the town and the state would be possible before DCAM issues its RFP to developers in early 2026.

“What are you gonna give the town of Wellesley in exchange for support for this project?” Select Person Kenny Largess asked.

Baacke suggested one possible scenario: The state could conserve the adjacent forest owned by MassBay in exchange for increased density beyond 180 units.

Saving the woods was a priority for Ann Mara Lanza of Building A Better Wellesley, and others.

But voicing his frustration, Select Board Vice Chair Tom Ulfelder said, “It sounds like if we want to get anything out of this, we gotta go higher than 180 units, and we do not appreciate that.”

Despite the disagreements, several board members thanked MassBay for engaging the community early and expressed hope for eventual compromise.

Next, MassBay and DCAM will host community meetings on campus on Sept. 25 and Oct. 8, at 6 p.m.

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Laredo reveals part of his executive team

Newton’s municipal election isn’t until Nov. 4. 

But the city’s presumptive next mayor, Marc Laredo, has been busy both campaigning and planning for his all-but-inevitable inauguration on Jan. 1, 2026.

Yesterday, Laredo, the current city council president, shared with a group of restaurant owners who are part of chamber’s Dining Collaborative some staffing plans for his executive office.

•  John Rice, a former city councilor who runs the Hyde Center, will be chief community services officer, overseeing human services, parks and recreation, senior services and other community services.
• Josh Morse, the city’s current building commissioner, will be chief operating officer, overseeing planning, inspectional services, DPW, public buildings and other nuts and bolts operations.
• Current CFO Maureen Lemieux has agreed to stay on for a six month transition.
• Laredo also said he’s selected his chief of staff (a new position), but he’s not ready to announce the appointment.
• He also plans to name a new planning director.

Needham & Watertown shuttles awarded grants

The 128 Business Council has received a $193,480 state grant to support the expansion of the frequency of The Grid shuttle which connects Needham-based workers in the office park to the Newton Highlands T.

The same program is also providing $78,788 to the Watertown Transportation Management Association to supports increased staff time to monitor organizations required to comply with Watertown's TDM ordinance.

Grab bag

• Tomorrow (Sept. 18) is your last chance to nominate Wellesley-based businesses and individuals who've had a special impact on the town for our second annual Wellesley Business Awards. Wellesley Night is Oct. 15 at Babson College.
• Trader Joe’s has applied to move its beer and wine license from its West Newton location to its new store opening this year at Newton Nexus on Needham Street.
• Watertown is exploring a public-private partnership to redevelop the parking lots, potentially creating a parking garage that could be later retrofitted for housing. (Watertown News)
• Ariel Pisetzky is the new chief information officer at Newton-based CyberArk in Newton.
• Congressman Jake Auchincloss tells the Globe he’s running for reelection, not challenging Sen. Ed Markey in 2026.
• Fulfilled Goods, located across the street from the Newtonville Whole Foods, is opening a second location in the lower level of Derby Farm Flowers & Gardens at 1280 Centre St., Newton Centre. Attend the grand opening Saturday (Sept 20) from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Parents’ Days Out returns to Wellesley this Friday and Saturday (Sept. 19–20). The annual tradition features live music outside Shake Shack and specials from participating businesses. Free two-hour parking at bagged meters. Details.
• Did you lose a pair of ducks?
• Abundant Housing MA has endorsed five candidates for Newton City Council.  The website includes comments from each candidate.
• JJ Kazakoff-Eigen, a first-time candidate seeking the Ward 1 Newton City Council seat has dropped out of the race, leaving incumbent Maria Greenberg is the only other candidate in that contest. (Fig City News)
• Newton South High School alum Veronica Burton, now a guard with the  Golden State Valkyries, is the WNBA’s 2025 Most Improved Player.

‘Rising stars’ to be recognized tonight

In addition to our already announced Newton Business Awards honorees that we’ll be recognizing at Newton Night tonight, we’ll be recognizing Shara Etell from Fulfilled Goods, for her work advocating for green practices across the city.

We’ll also be giving a rising star shout-out to  Kelly Comings, founder and executive director of Service Stars, a Newton nonprofit that has redefined after-school care. What began as a summer camp in 2018 has grown into year-round programs that give hundreds of kids hands-on opportunities to serve their community.

Tickets are still available.

Rate cuts could restart stalled housing in burbs (or not)

Finally, an anticipated quarter-point short-term interest rate cut today by the Federal Reserve Board has the potential to spur suburban housing starts, writes Steve Adams at Banker & Tradesman.

“Suburban development conditions are already improving in the wake of the MBTA Communities law’s loosening of zoning restrictions on multifamily housing,” Adams writes.

But Adams warns that escalating construction costs due to tariffs “remain a wild card…. potentially erasing the benefits of lower rates.”

Other factors driving up costs include: Inclusionary housing mandates, new green construction standards, immigrant construction labor losses and rules requiring more parking than is often needed.

In particular, Boston’s 17% inclusionary requirement and Cambridge’s 20% mandate have been shown to stymie construction.

Our chamber communities face similar mandates:

• Projects in Wellesley require as many as 20% affordable units.
• Newton projects can require upwards of 16% affordable units but the city council is considering increasing that.
• In Watertown projects must average 14%.
• In  Needham it can be 12.5%.

The chamber fully supports the urgent need to create more affordable housing. But when construction doesn’t proceed due to costs, then no affordable housing units are created either.

And that’s what you need to know for today — 99 shopping days ‘til Christmas — unless you need to know why your kid may suddenly be asking to borrow your old iPod or cassette player.

Hope to see you at Newton Night tonight.

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.

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