Office parks · Massachusetts

Wells Avenue Park

Imported, unreviewedRedevelopedRetrofit proposedNewton, MA

Proposed 334-unit housing project on a current sports club site; pending permits; aligned with regional housing market and peer redevelopments. · summary, model-written

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Site profile9 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Finance and pipeline

Retrofit in the pipeline

This site: …proposed newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

Place

3+ other atlas sites within 10 km

This site: 7 within 10 km computed · all sites with this

County lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012

This site: -10% census-cbp · all sites with this

County permitting 2,000+ apartment units a year

This site: 2,440 units, Middlesex County census-bps · all sites with this

County typical rent $2,000+

This site: $3,069/mo zillow · all sites with this

Strategy

Redeveloped

This site: Tear down building and replace it with 334 apartment units; 6,000 square feet of co-working space for small companies and a café. record · all sites with this

New use

Housing

This site: Tear down building and replace it with 334 apartment units; 6,000 square feet of co-working space for small comp newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

Office

This site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

Retail (continued)

This site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

Status	Retrofit proposednewtypes-extraction reported
Strategy	Redevelopment, proposedWikipedia no source
New uses	housing, office, retailWikipedia no source
What is there now	Tear down building and replace it with 334 apartment units; 6,000 square feet of co-working space for small companies and a café.newtypes-extraction reported
Redeveloper	Cabot, Cabot & Forbesnewtypes-extraction reported

Planning

Zoning change	Still awaiting city permits.newtypes-extraction reported

Site context

Housing permits, Middlesex County (MA), 2024	2,440 units in 5+ unit buildings, 166 in 2–4, 889 single-family; 2023: 2,902 in 5+Census BPS
Other atlas sites nearby	7 within 10 km, 26 within 25 km: Atrium Mall (3.2 km); City Realty development on Route 9 (4.0 km); Dedham Mall (5.5 km); Arsenal Mall (8.2 km); Bay Colony office complex (9.8 km)computed
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)	68,958 jobs in 4,328 establishments; average annual pay $47,577; employment location quotient 0.77; employment -2.2% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 2022	5,242 jobs; 119 in retail trade, 24 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 25017374000)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)	children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 62th income percentile as adults; -0.9% incarcerated at the 2010 count (143 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)	low-access at 1 mile, not low-income; 51% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 7.5%; median family income $164,375; 116 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
Schools	Newton School District (PK-12); 0 public schools within 1 mileNCES EDGE
Elevation	105 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025	469 county-logged events: 301 thunderstorm wind, 97 flood, 32 flash flood, 23 hail; $4,288,150 property damage reported; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 02459, 2026-09	median list price $2,540,000 (+3.8% on the year); 52 active listings; median 42 days on market; 15% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023	4,650 establishments (-10%); 79,115 jobs (-5%)Census CBP
Housing market in the county	typical home value $804,837 (+2% 1 yr, +22% 5 yr); typical rent $3,069/mo (+2% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)	28,453 vehicles a day (minor arterial, 2 lanes); 1,935 trucks; 5 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Wells Avenue Park (135 Wells Ave., Newton, MA) is a 62,000 sqft office-park site currently occupied by a Boston Sports Club. Developer Cabot, Cabot & Forbes proposes tearing down the building to replace it with 334 housing units, 6,000 sqft of co-working space, and a café. The project is proposed, pending city permits. Zoning change is still pending. The site is within 10km of seven other developments (including two proposed office complexes in Waltham), with housing market data showing a ZORI of $3,069 (2026-09). Traffic data indicates a minor arterial road with 2 lanes and 28,453 ADT. No permit timeline or community feedback is provided in the record. The project aligns with a 'redevelop' strategy, matching six peer sites within 10-27km.

Why. The record confirms the site is currently a sports club facility, not a mall. The proposed housing focus and pending permits are the key active elements. Contextual data (housing market, peer sites, traffic) is provided but no additional details on approval likelihood or community impact.

Where it stands. Status: Proposed (awaiting permits). No construction or sales status noted. Housing market data is projected to 2026-09. Traffic data is current (2024). Peer sites are all redeveloping in MA.

For a planner

Site is currently a non-mall facility (sports club).
Proposed housing mix (334 units) aligns with regional housing market data.
Nearby developments include two proposed office complexes (Waltham) and a proposed retail development (Chestnut Hill).
Traffic volume (28,453 ADT) is moderate for a minor arterial.

For a developer

Developer is active (Cabot, Cabot & Forbes).
Permitting is the current bottleneck.
Housing market ZORI ($3,069) supports the proposed unit mix.
Peer projects (e.g., Bay Colony, Waltham) show similar redevelop strategies.

What we do not know yet

Permitting timeline unknown.
No community feedback or environmental review details provided.
No cost or timeline data for the proposed project.

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Similar sites

Bay Colony office complex, Waltham, MA · Office parks · same strategy: redevelop; also in MA; 10 km away
City Realty development on Route 9, Chestnut Hill, MA · Office parks · same strategy: redevelop; also in MA; 4 km away
Elmwood Park, Hopkinton, MA · Office parks · same strategy: redevelop; also in MA; 27 km away
Bay Colony, Waltham, MA · Office parks · same strategy: redevelop; also in MA; 10 km away

Elsewhere on the web

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Multifamily screen

already in play: under construction, approved, or sold to a developer with housing plans
median rent $2,126
housing in the record

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Gross leasable area	62,000 sq ftnewtypes-extraction
Anchors	Boston Sports Club
County	Middlesex County
Census division	1 · New England
Notes	Draft from bostonglobe.com, model-extracted, unreviewed: The former Boston Sports Club facility in Newton is proposed to be replaced with housing, co-working space, and a café.

Not yet recorded: acres, year opened, original developer, retrofit year. Know it? Tell us.

Sources

Developers take steps to reinvent suburban office parks
1 quoted sentence
Wells Avenue Park

Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "Wells Avenue Park, Newton, MA." Record n-ec44c71aaf, imported, unreviewed. Built on the public Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed. https://retrofitatlas.org/office-parks/ma/newton-wells-avenue-park/ (accessed 2026-10-21).

BibTeX

@misc{retrofitatlas_newtonwellsavenuepark,
  title = {Wells Avenue Park, Newton, MA},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/office-parks/ma/newton-wells-avenue-park/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record n-ec44c71aaf, release 2026-10-21, tier: draft. Built on the Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed on the record. Accessed 2026-10-21}
}

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