Riverside

A birds-eye view of Newton Lower Falls. The Riverside MBTA Station site, where Mark Development plans to develop its project, is at the top left.

Riverside Development

In December 2025, the Newton City Council approved the development of 753 housing units with supportive retail at Riverside. Mark Development plans to go before the City Council in November 2026 to seek the City Council's permission to revise this plan. As of October 2026, the key changes to the previous plan are:

Mark Development is proposing a new set of changes to the Riverside Station development. In December of 2025, the City Council approved the development of 753 housing units with supportive retail. The latest plan would make the following key changes:

  • Mark Development would partner with two other entities, Greystar (the primary developer) and Harbert South Bay (a senior living developer), to get the project funded and underway starting in Spring 2027.

  • Construction is expected to take approximately 4 years. 267 units of senior housing with assisted living, assisted living deluxe, and memory care units would replace 309 housing units for a net loss of 42 units. The senior housing would be in Building 2/3 (near the current Indigo Hotel location). The height of the building would increase by approximately 7 feet (59 feet instead of 52 feet). A rendering of the proposed senior housing building is shown below the 2025 approved design. The amount of affordable housing units would decrease by 62 units. This is because it is not feasible for the senior housing building to have an affordable component. The City’s inclusionary zoning provides that for the loss of onsite affordable units, Mark Development would make a payment of approximately $4,350,000 to fund affordable housing elsewhere in the City.

  • Traffic is expected to decrease. (The traffic study has not yet been completed.) The garage height would come down 2 floors. Overall parking would decrease from 980 spaces to 727 spaces. Open space would increase and the playground that had been out on Grove St. would be moved to the interior of the project.

  • The amount of retail space would increase very slightly (21,705 SF to 21,800 SF).

  • The multiuse path along Recreation Road to Riverside Park would be completed up to the edge of the bridge at the Newton/Weston line. Previously, the multiuse path that was proposed extended from the limit of the project site along Recreation Road through the Town of Weston, ultimately connecting to the existing regional trail network at Riverside Park. The total cost for this larger trail network project was estimated at $1,500,000. If Mark Development was unsuccessful obtaining the necessary approvals from the Town of Weston (which is outside the City of Newton’s control) they would have funded $1,500,000 and have no obligations to construct any multiuse paths beyond the limit of their site along Recreation Road. Mark Development will now commit to completing the new multiuse path from the limits of their site to the start of the bridge at the Newton/Weston line, even if they are unable to obtain the required approvals from the Town of Weston for the portion of new work within their jurisdiction. If the Town of Weston does not provide approvals for the piece they control, Mark Development will now fund a pro rata allocation of the $1,500,000 total project cost for just the lineal footage of work within Weston that they’re not authorized to complete.

    The proposed changes to housing and parking are also outlined in the below chart:

More Information

The City’s Riverside webpage should include links to the developers’ filings as the process unfolds:

https://www.newtonma.gov/government/city-clerk/city-council/special-permits/riverside-special-permit

Riverside Neighborhood Liaison Committee

Established by the City Council after the approval of the 2025 Riverside plan, the Liaison Committee regularly meets with Mark Development and keeps the neighborhood informed about issues, concerns, and plans.

As of 2026, Lower Falls neighbors Liz Mirabile and Barbara Gruenthal serve on the Liaison Committee, along with representatives from Auburndale, our Ward 4 city councilors, and a representative from Mark Development.

A Brief History

The Lower Falls Improvement Association’s Riverside Committee (LFIA Riverside) was a neighborhood group that was formed in 2018 to advocate for sensible and sustainable development at the Riverside MBTA Station site—located between Newton Lower Falls and Auburndale, MA—that fits the scale of the surrounding communities.

On behalf of neighbors and future Riverside residents and visitors, the LFIA Riverside Committee has advocated over the years for minimized traffic, noise, and lighting; appropriate building heights; appealing design; affordable housing; increased landscaping and open space; pedestrian/motorist/cyclist safety; mitigation funds for neighborhood and school improvements; and more. 

Thank you to all who helped the LFIA Riverside Committee, including our then-Ward 4 councilors (Lenny Gentile, Chris Markiewicz, Josh Krintzman), and especially our Lower Falls and Auburndale neighbors, who spoke up, attended countless meetings, wrote letters, and donated money.

More Details