Boston-based real estate firm Beacon Communities recently announced plans to purchase the former Santander Bank property at 1314 Washington Street in West Newton from Mark Development — and to convert the building, and the parking lots behind it, into retail space and 100% affordable housing.
The historic bank building dates back to 1915. It opened as the West Newton Savings Bank and later became a Santander Bank location.
Mark Development, the firm behind the Trio development in Newtonville and the Riverside development in Lower Falls, acquired the bank building and adjacent parking lots in 2018. In 2022, Mark Development representatives unveiled plans for a five-story addition on the back of the existing building and the conversion of the bank space into a restaurant and lobby area. The City Council approved a special permit for the project in 2023, but Mark Development has yet to break ground.
In June, Beacon Communities submitted to the City a Purchase and Sale Agreement between Beacon and an LLC affiliated with Mark Development. According to the document, Beacon Communities will acquire the bank building and adjacent parking lots on or before September 1, 2027, for $9.75 million.
According to plans that Beacon submitted to the City, the firm is proposing to rehabilitate the existing two-story bank, construct a 4.5-story building directly behind the bank, and construct a 5.5-story building directly behind that building.
The proposed development meets the requirements of the Village Center Overlay District (VCOD) zoning that the City Council passed in December 2023. It needs standard building and demolition permits, and because the bank structure is over 50 years old, the project will come before the Historic Commission for review. But under VCOD zoning, the proposed development would be permitted as-of-right.
Project timeline
To finance the project, Beacon is seeking over $63 million in funding from a variety of sources, including $4 million from the Newton Affordable Housing Trust (NAHT). The Trust, which receives Community Preservation Act funds from the City, is authorized to provide financial support to affordable housing developments in Newton.
Beacon is also seeking $36 million in federal and state equity, $14.3 million from the MassHousing Partnership, and $8.5 million in unspecified “additional funding.”
Should the necessary funding be secured, construction would likely begin in late 2027 or early 2028, said Beacon Vice President of Development Darcy Jameson at a June 30 meeting of the Newton Fair and Affordable Housing Partnership.
Jameson said at the Partnership meeting that Beacon is in the process of discussing its plans with elected officials and community members. On July 21, Beacon met with the NAHT. The firm has also met with Engine 6 Newton Housing Advocates.
Affordable housing
The 100%-affordable project is slated to include 72 all-rental units — a mix of studio, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom apartments. Units would be income-restricted, reserved for households with incomes up to 30%, 60%, and 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
In its application for NAHT funds, Beacon provided an analysis of Newton’s affordable housing market, identifying problems — and making the case that the proposed development could help address them.
Newton’s housing market is “among the most expensive and supply-constrained rental markets in the Commonwealth,” Beacon argued in its application, with “high rent levels underscoring the significant affordability gap facing low-and moderate-income households.” Beacon added that because Newton’s rental market has low vacancy rates, the housing supply is tight, and rents continue to increase.
“Taken together, these conditions demonstrate a critical need for new affordable housing development in Newton. The high cost of market rate units, combined with low vacancy and sustained demand, creates significant barriers for working households, seniors, and vulnerable populations,” the application reads in part. “A new 72-unit Low Income Housing Tax Credit development would directly address this gap by expanding the supply of stable, income-restricted housing in a market where such opportunities are extremely limited, thereby supporting long term economic diversity and housing stability within the community.”
City Councilor Julia Malakie (Ward 3), whose ward is home to the proposed development, told Fig City News that she is pleased that the project will make use of the existing bank building and provide desirable affordable units.
“I think it’s smart to be keeping the historic West Newton Savings Bank building, which is attractive and solid,” she said. “The new building looks bland in renderings, but that is to be expected with new construction, and the benefit is getting all-affordable units, including 30% AMI, which we have very little of.”
Parking
While VCOD zoning does not require Beacon to provide resident parking, the firm plans to supply 25 parking spaces for the proposed development’s 72 units, Jameson told the Partnership at the June 30 meeting.
“We’re anticipating doing this project as of right, but also recognize the importance of parking in the area, and that many residents won’t need parking; they will be happy to live in a transit-oriented community,” she said. “I think others may have a car, and so we did focus on trying to integrate some parking into the project.”
Beacon Communities President Josh Cohen said at the Partnership meeting that 25 parking spaces amounts to a ratio of 0.35 spaces-per-unit, which at the Washington Street location “feels market-appropriate.”
“This is transit-oriented. There’s a lot of walkability, but it is not as walkable as some other sites we’ve worked on, and given limited parking opportunities in the area, it felt important to have some [parking spaces] on site,” he said. “So getting to that about a third feels right to us in terms of the lease-up of the building and the households that are going to be living here.”
However, some West Newton leaders and community members have doubts about the parking plans.
The First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton is based in a church across the street from the proposed development site. Laurel Farnsworth, a member of the congregation, said at the Partnership meeting that while she supports the construction of affordable housing, she had concerns that the proposed development could make parking in West Newton Square even more of a challenge. The parking lots that are slated to be replaced by new buildings, she said, used to be a community asset. (The lots are now used exclusively by the Newton Police.)
“I’m very concerned with 25 parking spaces because our congregation is starved for parking already,” she said. “It’s significantly impacting our operation, and I think it’s significantly impacting all of West Newton Square. When that parking lot was open to people, everybody could access West Newton Square businesses. I think you won’t find a single business who doesn’t say they’re suffering from lack of parking.”
Malakie shared a similar perspective. She said that she suggested that Beacon executives spend a week in a West Newton apartment “and see how their life would work without a car.”
“It’s not easy to live car-free in West Newton, especially with kids, and the Commuter Rail is far less useful than the T. People may plan to be car-free but find they need one after all, then what?” she said.
Malakie added that while the proposed development could bring more customers to local businesses, other community members could have a hard time accessing their favorite shops and restaurants if parking became more of a challenge.
“It’s great to have more customers for West Newton Square businesses, but they need customers from other villages and towns as well. Some, like West Newton Cinema and Paper Mouse, are a regional draw, and parking is already tight,” she said. “I think we will likely need robust buffer zones and parking limits, such as a year-round overnight parking ban around the ‘parking-lite’ developments, to ensure that neighboring streets are available in the daytime for customers and employees and don’t become car storage for residents who knew they were renting a unit without parking but end up getting a car anyway.”
The broader context
If constructed, the proposed development would join several other new or proposed housing projects on Washington Street.
The Newton Crossing project, a short walk from the proposed development site, is expected to be ready for occupancy beginning in September 2026. The development team recently announced that lottery applications are open for the project’s affordable units.
Further down Washington Street is the West Newton Armory 100% affordable redevelopment, which is expected to be ready for occupancy beginning in early 2027. The development team also recently announced that lottery applications are open for the project’s affordable units.
And finally, as Washington Street crosses into Newtonville, there’s Beacon Communities’ proposed 100% affordable development at 793 Washington Street — separate and apart from the 1314 Washington Street proposal. Beacon Communities applied for a demolition permit in February, and the Historic Commission has signaled that it will not intervene.
Theo Younkin is a 2026 graduate of Newton South High School, former co-Editor-in-Chief of the NSHS Lion’s Roar, and a Fig City News student intern.