Skip to content
Newton, Needham, Watertown, Wellesley
Subscribe to our free e-newsletter
Our Region
Directory
Member Login

The Street will soon be complete

Back to Chamber News
Need to Knows Graphic

The Street will soon be complete

Torrential rains and howling winds once again lead to significant flooding, downed trees, and causing blackouts across the region, impacting our businesses and communities.

Fig City News and Swellesley Report have images, videos, and updates.

The Street will soon be complete 

The Street 27 Boylston

WS Development just unveiled 14 of the nearly 25 new retailers, restaurants, offices, and other tenants that will move into the missing middle of The Street in Chestnut Hill this coming spring and summer.

The now under-construction 90,000 sf project at 27 Boylston Street will finally complete WS Development's process of transforming the stodgy old Chestnut Hill Shopping Center, first built in 1950.


The new three-level development will feature an elevated walkway that wraps around the building to a second level of retail shops and a 64 ft. bridge that will transport guests through a tree canopy to the property’s southern façade. 

The Globe's Diti Kohli has more.

Arsenal Yards also welcoming new tenants in 2024 

Watertown's Arsenal Yards will also be welcoming additional businesses in 2024, including J.Crew Factory, Jersey Mike’s Subs, and Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique. 

Which leads us to this big question... 

It's certainly gratifying that so many different businesses believe in the economic viability of having a brick-and-mortar presence in our communities.

But as one retailer said to me yesterday, "How am I and all these new restaurants and stores going to find employees if we keep making it so hard to build housing around here?"

Looking for a college intern this summer? 

One of the great benefits of having the Mount Ida Campus in Newton is that it provides local employers access to UMass Amherst undergraduate and graduate students who can live on campus while working for you as interns and co-ops.

More than 275 UMass Amherst undergraduate and graduate students seeking summer internship opportunities in Greater Boston attended their job fair last year.

This year's internship fair will be held Jan. 25, 2-5 p.m. Employers can register for a table by emailing Jenny Reynolds.

307 apartments proposed for Newtonville 40B 

Boylston Properties submitted its application to Newton's Zoning Board of Appeals last week for a 307-apartment 40B project at 78 Crafts Street in Newtonville.

The 4.6 acre, 11 parcel site (it's basically an eye sore next to the DPW yard) is in easy walking distance of the commuter rail, Whole Foods, Marty's, and other amenities along Washington Street and in Newtonville and Nonantum.

It calls for four multifamily buildings and a separate two-story parking structure (with 266 parking spaces in total). Sixty-two of the units would be affordable at 50% of the area median income.

The public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 10.

Fig City News attended a community meeting about the project a few weeks ago.

Cities and towns get infrastructure support 

About $2.2 million is headed to our four chamber communities for new sidewalks, bike lanes, new pavement, retaining walks, crossing signals, and other transportation infrastructure features, the Healey administration announced.

The funds are coming through the state’s Millionaire’s Tax, using a formula that divides $100 million that considered local road mileage, population, and employment. Find out how much each municipality received here.

Tuesday grab bag 

  • Whoops! I left out a few zeros last Friday when writing about a Swellesley Report item about Wellesley’s parking meter collections. The town collects about $100K in parking meter revenue annually but it costs the town $36K to process the coins. (Thanks for all the emails. Always appreciate corrections and great to know so many folks are reading.)

  • Congratulations to Hedy Jarras, proprietor of Sweet Tomatoes Pizza, and her team on the 25th anniversary of the Newton Centre restaurant.  Jarras was 23 years old when she opened the pizzeria (a favorite in my family), later adding locations in West Newton and Needham as well as a growing catering operation.

  • For those who’ve asked: The Massachusetts minimum wage is not changing in 2024. This chart from the Mass Restaurants Association may be helpful.

  • Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley was among the many synagogues across the state and the nation that received a hoax bomb threat this past weekend. (Swellesley Report)

  • Jodie Zussman, president and CEO at Boston Development Group (and vice chair on the chamber’s board of directors) will be among those honored at the Boston Real Estate Times’ Outstanding Women of Commercial Real Estate 2024 event, on Feb. 24 at the Burlington Marriott.

  • Watertown’s Department of Public Works business hours have changed from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. to Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

  • Financially struggling Lookout Farm in Natick says it is likely to close if the town requires its restaurant operation to abide by rules requiring it to install an exterior grease trap. (Natick Report)

  • The National Restaurant Association is hosting a free webinar on Jan. 9 at 2 p.m. about the status of Employee Retention Credit including the claim processing moratorium and what to expect from the IRS in the coming months. Register.

Vote for access to justice

Newton-based legal tech startup with access to justice focus descrybe.ai is a semifinalist in the ABA TECHSHOW Startup Alley and needs your vote to make it to the finals.

They're currently in fourth place and the top 15 companies make it to the finals in Chicago in February. descrybe.ai (a chamber member) is the only New England company represented in this international competition. You can vote up to five times if you are so inclined. Voting closes on Dec. 29.

Burdensome cannabis delivery rules loosened 

It's about time. The state's Cannabis Control Commission finally voted to allow non-medical cannabis deliveries with just one person in the delivery vehicle rather than two, Cassie McGrath at the BBJ reports

The decision has long been championed by Devin Alexander, CEO at Rolling Releaf, a Newton-based delivery company (and one of our 2024 Emerging Leaders of Color) who has passionately argued that the rule was unnecessary from a security perspective and a burden on his profitably.

The commission also voted unanimously to extend a COVID-era waiver to allow medical marijuana patients to get initial prescriptions via telehealth appointments. 

Men leaving benefits, bonding, on the table 

Finally this morning, just over 60% of men take full advantage of paid paternity leave compared to 93% of women, according to survey data from the Boston College Center for Work & Family.

Like unused vacation days or health benefits, a forfeited leave means giving up a significant part of compensation, not to mention important time with newborns, writes the Wall Street Journal’s Ben Eisen. It also can affect their partners’ careers and the division of labor at home.

“Evidence of paternity leave’s benefits is easy to find. Studies show it is good for children, for parents’ relationship with one another, and for mothers’ earnings,” Eisen adds.

Research also suggests parental leave helps rewire dads’ brains, attuning them to the mental and emotional requirements of parenting.

That's what you need to know for today, unless you need where you can go to find a white Christmas or, if not that, eight hours of a cozy, crackling yule log in 4K resolution.

Be back later this week. Keep shopping locally.

 
Greg Reibman (he, him)
President & CEO
617.244.1688
Powered By GrowthZone