News
March 20, 2004
John D. Hanify
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The Nolan Companies of Minneapolis announced today that the Middlesex Superior Court has issued a decision approving the special permit issued by the City of Newton Board of Aldermen on June 21, 2003 to convert a former, now vacant plastics factory into an innovative new mixed use facility at 300 Needham Street, Newton. 300 Needham Street occupies a prominent "gateway" location at the intersection of Needham and Christina Streets, just over the Needham line.
The Nolan Company is a national developer of upscale self-storage facilities. Nolan developed a plan for this site that promotes pedestrian access to new retail shops that serve as the streetscape for the of the self-storage facility.
In its March 10 decision, the Court found that the proposed state of the art self-storage facility "is the least traffic-intensive commercial use." The Court also approved the retail component for "pedestrian friendly" retail uses along the outer perimeter of the facility facing Needham Street. The Court noted: "the drawings of the proposed building that have been submitted show a façade that a reasonable observer could consider to be far more attractive than the industrial style building that presently exists."
"As far as we know, this is the first time anywhere in the country where the need to reduce traffic levels has led to a mixed use of self-storage and attractive retail spaces," John Nolan, CEO of the Nolan Companies noted. "We were pleased to work closely with Newton officials and the Board of Aldermen, who were anxious to assure an appropriate re-use of the site serving the convenience of pedestrians and neighbors, yet not making traffic on Needham Street worse."
The challenge to the special permit was filed by the owner of the 320 Needham Street, The Bullfinch Building, who contended, as it did at the public hearing before the Board of Aldermen, that the proposed project would worsen traffic. The Court found just the opposite-that "the project will improve the flow of traffic on Needham Street, as compared with the previous use of the site" The Court noted that the owners of 320 were also developers who had tried unsuccessfully to acquire the 300 Needham site: "It is fair to infer that such interest plays at least some role in its opposition to this project."
Nolan’s counsel, John D. Hanify of the Boston firm of Hanify&King observed that one other notable aspect of the case was the speed at which the case came to trial: "This case was filed in late June, 2003. At that point, we were determined to expedite this case so that the economics of the development continued to make sense. The Court accommodated our requests and acknowledged the importance of determining these issues swiftly."
