Good morning and happy first day of spring!

We've received lots of positive responses to this week's announcement that we’re expanding into Brookline as of April 1. Thank you for that.

Here’s our FAQ page about the transition.

Learn more from Brookline.News as well as The Globe, BBJ and Patch.

Rent control could cost our communities $9 billion

A proposed rent-control ballot question could wipe out more than $6 billion in property value across our four Charles River Chamber communities within just three years, according to a new Tufts study.

Add Brookline to the mix, and the hit grows to $9 billion — with losses accelerating over time in all of our communities and all across the state.

The analysis from the nonpartisan Center for State Policy Analysis modeled the short- and long-term fiscal impact of capping rent increases at the lower of 5% or inflation statewide.

The logic is simple: rent control limits property owners' earning potential. Limit rental income, you reduce property values — and the tax revenue cities and towns rely on.

To fill the gap, communities would need to slash services or pray they could pass an override.

• Watertown: property values would decrease 9% by 2029 (21% by 2036), requiring a 10% tax increase (26% by 2036)
  
  
• Newton: down 7% (12% by 2036), requiring an 8% increase (13% by 2036)
  
  
• Needham and Wellesley: each down 7% (8% by 2036), requiring a 7% increase (9% by 2036)
  
  
• Brookline: down 8% (20% by 2036), requiring a 9% tax increase (25% by 2036)

And this comes at a tough moment, with commercial growth already slowing and budgets under pressure.

“No one is spared. Every town will see an impact,” Evan Horowitz, who led the study, tells CBS Boston. “You collect less, you spend less on police, on fire, on parks, on snow removal, on schools — or you raise tax rates.”

Statewide, the projected hit would be $300 billion in lost property value and $2.7 billion less in local tax revenue over the next decade.

Poll: Four lanes good, two lanes bad

If Polymarket offers a bet on whether Needham will put Great Plan Ave. on a road diet, take the under.

This week, results of a long-awaited Envision Needham survey showed overwhelming support for keeping downtown’s main street at four lanes.

Also this week, all three candidates for two seats on the Select Board (the body responsible for the final decision) said at our chamber debate that they also favor four.

One additional vote from the remaining three board members would lock that in, and that’s all but certain.

Among more than 2,600 survey respondents, 77% supported the four-lane configuration, compared with 50% for three lanes and just 25% for two lanes. Employees and employers showed the strongest support for four lanes compared to residents, visitors and others.

Even when the town opts for four lanes, downtown businesses still face years of disruption because Great Plain needs to be torn up to make necessary sewer and other infrastructure improvements.

Needham  Observer has more.

Friday grab bag

• Can I buy you lunch? Refer a Brookline business to the chamber and when they join, we’ll thank you with a $25 gift card to a chamber-member restaurant of your choice.
  
  
• America now has more spas and gyms than stores selling actual stuff.
  
  
• Watertown hosts a community meeting about the implementation of the Watertown Square Area Plan on April 6, 6.m. at the Watertown Free Public Library
  
  
• Garden Communities plans to begin marketing and leasing Newton Crossing, 292 apartments and 8,000 SF of retail at 1165 Washington Street in West Newton, this spring.  (Patch)
  
  
• Final reminder that Mass. Chambers Policy Network is conducting a survey asking employers to share their experiences with energy costs, utility bills and regional energy and climate priorities.
  
  
• Today (March 20) is the last day for employers to register for Wellesley College’s Spring 2026 Just in Time Job & Internship Career Fair on March 31.|
  
  
• Brookline's Select Board has voted to put the rezoning of Chestnut Hill to Town Meeting this May. If passed (and that’s not certain), the change would pave the way for City Realty's proposed large commercial and residential development across the street from The Street. (Brookline.News).
  
  
• The Attorney General’s office says about 47,000 Massachusetts consumers will soon receive restitution checks as a result of a case against Boston Sports Club dating back to the pandemic.
  
  
• The Boston Region MPO is gathering input from businesses for its Freight Action Plan survey, a five-minute questionnaire on local freight needs and priorities. Responses due April 13.
  
  
• Brick Marketing hosts a free webinar, "Balancing SEO, AI Search (GEO) & Content Strategy," on Weds. (Mar. 25) 3 p.m.), offering marketers practical guidance on integrating SEO, generative engine optimization, and content marketing to improve brand visibility and lead generation.
  
  
• The Needham Observer interviewed John Sisson, Needham’s new economic development director.
  
  
• The Globe’s Devra First visited Persian restaurants in Watertown at a difficult time for Iranians.  (Today is Nowruz.)
  
  
• How many of the restaurants participating at Spring Seasoning: A Taste of Our Towns have you dined at?  Email me. I’d love to know.

Triveni ends up on top — another Watertown win

Boylston Properties has landed a new biotech tenant at Arsenal Yards, with Triveni Bio signing a lease for the top floor of its nine-story 100 Forge lab building in Watertown, according to the BBJ’s Hannah Green.

Triveni, a clinical-stage company focused on immune and inflammatory diseases, is relocating from 99 Coolidge Ave. It joins a roster of high-profile tenants including Mariana Oncology, Vigil Neuroscience and Remix Therapeutics.

100 Forge was also the site of last week’s chamber event, looking at Watertown’s biotech sector.

Watertown News was there. You can also watch a 10-minute presentation from WatertownBio or view the full program.

Nines’ lives would improve with a footbridge over Charles

The Nines development in Wellesley is approved for 350 homes (including 25% affordable units), conveniently located off I-95 and Route 9.

Inconveniently, the Nine’s location is hemmed by highways and the Charles River, despite qualifying as transit-oriented under MBTA Communties.  

It’s about a mile to the nearest MBTA station at Eliot and 1.2 miles to Waban — both requiring a not-so-pleasant walk along Route 9 for part of the trip.  In other words, without a car, getting around is a challenge.

But transit advocate Srdjan Nedeljkovic has what he describes as a “relatively simple” fix.

He estimates that for roughly $3 million, a pedestrian and bicycle bridge could connect The Nines to Quinobequin Road in Newton, creating a direct route to the Waban MBTA station about a half-mile away, he writes in a Newton Beacon op-ed.

Nedeljkovic cites the picturesque Sargent Bridge in Natick an example of what a new bridge across the Charles could look like.

“Residents from The Nines will not only have a pleasant walk to transit, but their homes will become integrated with those of the residents of Waban,” he adds.

“The Nines residents, crossing the new bridge, will also gain access to the retail and cultural facilities in Waban Center, which would then be just a 10-minute walk away.”

That’s what you need to know for today — National Preschool Teachers Appreciation Day — unless you need to know why its dangerous to retrieve your phone if it falls between seats on an airplane. 

Go visit a local restaurant this weekend. See you next 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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